The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss disability, an acquired psychiatric disability, a back disability, Crohn's disease, shin splints, restless leg syndrome, knee disabilities, and foot disabilities have all been denied. The evidence does not support the presence of current disabilities or a causal relationship to military service.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not establish current diagnoses for many of the claimed conditions, nor is there sufficient credible evidence linking these conditions to military service.
- Claimed conditions
- sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss disability, acquired psychiatric disability, back disability, Crohn's disease, bilateral shin splints, bilateral restless leg syndrome, right knee disability, left knee disability, right cavus foot, left cavus foot
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 15, 2019
- Citation
- 19163440
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 19163440.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for a back disability due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding VA's failure to provide the Veteran with a VA examination prior to the rating decision.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for tinnitus, cubital tunnel syndrome, right plantar fasciitis, and a right knee disability due to the lack of evidence supporting a nexus between these conditions and the Veteran's military service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea as there is no evidence of an in-service injury or disease, and no competent evidence linking the condition to service.
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