The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss due to new and material evidence. However, a VA examination is needed to determine if he currently has a diagnosis of bilateral hearing loss.,Service connection for fibromyalgia is denied as there is no current diagnosis or established link between the condition and military service.,A VA examination is required to assess whether the Veteran has allergic rhinitis that may be related to his active duty service. The June 2015 VA opinion was based on a single bout of allergic rhinitis, which does not meet the criteria for chronic disability.,Service connection for sleep apnea is remanded as there are conflicting opinions regarding its relationship to military service. A new VA examination and medical opinion are needed to determine if the Veteran's sleep apnea is related to his active duty service.,The claim for service connection for GERD secondary to IBS remains in dispute, with a June 2015 VA examiner concluding that there is no causal or aggravating relationship. A new VA examination and medical opinion are needed to resolve this issue.,Service connection for a headache disability is remanded as the Veteran claims his symptoms began during service but there is conflicting evidence regarding its onset and etiology.,The claim for service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) remains in dispute. The June 2015 VA examiner found no link between CFS and military service, with a new examination and opinion needed to determine if the Veteran's symptoms are related to his active duty service.
The deciding factor: The claim for bilateral hearing loss is remanded as there is conflicting evidence regarding whether the Veteran currently has a diagnosis of bilateral hearing loss.,Service connection for fibromyalgia is denied because there is no current diagnosis or established link between the condition and military service.,A VA examination is needed to assess whether the Veteran's allergic rhinitis may be related to his active duty service, as the June 2015 opinion was based on a single bout of allergic rhinitis that does not meet the criteria for chronic disability.,Service connection for sleep apnea is remanded due to conflicting opinions regarding its relationship to military service. A new VA examination and medical opinion are needed to determine if the Veteran's sleep apnea is related to his active duty service.,The claim for GERD secondary to IBS remains in dispute as there is no causal or aggravating relationship established by a June 2015 VA examiner, with a need for a new VA examination and medical opinion to resolve this issue.,Service connection for a headache disability is remanded due to conflicting evidence regarding its onset and etiology. A new VA examination and medical opinion are needed to determine if the Veteran's symptoms are related to his active duty service.,The claim for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) remains in dispute as there is no established link between CFS and military service, with a need for a new VA examination and medical opinion to determine if the Veteran's symptoms are related to his active duty service.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, fibromyalgia, allergic rhinitis, sleep apnea, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), headache disability, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 11, 2019
- Citation
- 19144960
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,680 · Granted: 24% (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 19144960.
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 Veteran's claim for service connection for migraines was reopened due to new evidence. Service connection is granted for painful scars, but the rating assigned remains at 10 percent. The claims for fibromyalgia and bilateral shoulder disability are denied.
- 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 claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
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