Service connection is denied for DDD of the lumbar spine, left hip disorder, right hip disorder, left knee disorder, right knee disorder, left foot disorder, and right foot disorder.,Service connection is denied for tinnitus, COPD, obstructive sleep apnea, and hypertension.
The deciding factor: There is no indication that the Veteran's conditions are related to service or on a basis of continuity of symptoms. The earliest medical records do not show any pre-service or in-service diagnosis of these conditions.,The earliest medical records showing diagnoses for these conditions were obtained after separation from service, and there is no evidence linking them to service.
- Claimed conditions
- DDD of the lumbar spine, left hip disorder, right hip disorder, left knee disorder, right knee disorder, left foot disorder, right foot disorder, tinnitus, COPD, obstructive sleep apnea, hypertension
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 14, 2019
- Citation
- 19163274
Veterans Law Judge
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 19163274.
What this means for you
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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 case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and providing proper notice regarding secondary service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- 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.
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