The Veteran's claim for bilateral hearing loss has been reopened, but service connection remains denied.,Service connection is denied for left shoulder arthritis and leg pain as these conditions are not related to active duty service or a service-connected disability.,Service connection for sleep apnea is denied as there is no current diagnosis of the condition.,Diabetes mellitus, type II, was not incurred in or aggravated by active military service. Service connection is also denied.,Headaches and PTSD are not etiologically related to the Veteran’s active duty service.,Service connection for depression has been granted with staged initial ratings from October 2, 2013.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not establish a direct link between the claimed conditions and active military service or a service-connected disability.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, left shoulder arthritis, leg pain, sleep apnea, diabetes mellitus, type II, headaches, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 4, 2019
- Citation
- 19142778
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,890 · Granted: 32% (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 19142778.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including bipolar disorder and PTSD. The Veteran will be asked to provide additional medical records and undergo a VA examination.
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