The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, headaches, sleep apnea, and tinnitus has been reopened due to the submission of new evidence. However, no service connection is granted as there is no current disability found for any of these conditions.,An effective date earlier than January 11, 2016 for the grant of service connection for tinnitus is denied.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's hearing loss and sleep apnea are not shown to be related to his military service. The Veteran has no current disability for headaches or tinnitus that can be linked to his service.,There is no evidence showing the Veteran’s tinnitus began in service, nor any event or injury therein to which it could be related.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, headaches, sleep apnea, tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 29, 2019
- Citation
- 19167097
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 19167097.
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.
- 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 claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
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