The Veteran withdrew his appeals for all issues except service connection for sinusitis, which was dismissed. The remaining appeals were also dismissed as the Veteran expressed satisfaction with his current combined disability rating.
The deciding factor: The Veteran requested to withdraw his appeal in full prior to any decision being made.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Hypertension, Right Shoulder Disability, Left Shoulder Disability, Right Elbow Disability, Left Elbow Disability, Right Wrist Disability, Left Wrist Disability, Sinusitis, Right Thumb Disability, Left Thumb Disability, Right Index Finger Disability, Left Index Finger Disability, Right Long Finger Disability, Left Long Finger Disability, Lumbar Spine Disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 3, 2019
- Citation
- 19167934
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 19167934.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for hypertension, finding that it did not manifest during service and is not causally related to the Veteran's exposure to herbicides or service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. The issue remains under direct service connection theory.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and active duty service or herbicide exposure.
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