The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service-connected.,The Veteran's swelling of the hands due to a cold injury and arthritis of the bilateral hands, knees, and shoulders are denied as not related to active service.,The Veteran's asbestos exposure-related chronic disability is denied as there is no evidence of such exposure during service.,The Veteran's chronic fatigue syndrome is denied as there is no current diagnosis or in-service incident linked to this condition.
The deciding factor: Service connection for tinnitus was granted based on the Veteran's reported history and his competent testimony regarding symptoms experienced during active service, despite a VA examiner's opinion against a nexus.,The Veteran did not provide credible evidence of cold injury or asbestos exposure during service. The arthritis claim is denied as there is no in-service incident linked to these conditions.,Asbestos exposure was not conceded due to lack of evidence showing such exposure occurred during service, and the Veteran has not provided any further evidence supporting this claim.,Chronic fatigue syndrome was denied as there is no current diagnosis or in-service incident linked to this condition.
- Claimed conditions
- tinnitus, swelling of the hands due to cold injury, arthritis of the bilateral hands, knees, and shoulders due to cold injury, asbestos exposure-related chronic disability, chronic fatigue syndrome
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 6, 2019
- Citation
- 19135003
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,948 · Granted: 29% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 19135003.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service connected. The issues of foot disability and cardiovascular disorder are remanded for additional development.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, finding that it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran experienced tinnitus during his active duty service.
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