The Veteran's right lateral epicondylitis is related to in-service injuries and granted service connection.,Service connection for obstructive sleep apnea is granted as the disorder began during active service.,Degenerative arthritis of the right knee and arthritis of the right ankle are not service-connected, with no evidence linking these conditions to service.,Bilateral hearing loss is rated at 0% (noncompensable) due to current hearing acuity levels.
The deciding factor: Service connection for lateral epicondylitis was granted based on a nexus between the Veteran's in-service injuries and his current condition, with doubt resolved in favor of the Veteran.,Obstructive sleep apnea was found to have begun during service due to credible lay testimony from the Veteran's wife.,Degenerative arthritis of the right knee and arthritis of the right ankle were not service-connected as there is no evidence linking these conditions to service, despite the Veteran's assertions.,Bilateral hearing loss was rated at 0% (noncompensable) based on current hearing acuity levels.
- Claimed conditions
- Lateral epicondylitis of the right elbow, Obstructive sleep apnea, Degenerative arthritis of the right knee, Arthritis of the right ankle
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 0%
- Decision date
- October 2, 2019
- Citation
- 19176363
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,948 · Granted: 29% (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 19176363.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to a duty to assist error, specifically regarding whether the Veteran's current conditions are aggravated by his service-connected DDD of the lumbosacral spine. The AOJ is required to obtain new medical opinions addressing this issue.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for initial compensable ratings for obstructive sleep apnea and headaches, finding that the evidence does not support a finding of persistent daytime hypersomnolence or other manifestations consistent with a compensable disability rating under the criteria established by Diagnostic Codes. The matter is remanded to obtain additional information from the Veteran regarding his headaches and their impact on his daily life.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection of obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to his service-connected residuals of left foot 5th metatarsal fracture.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of obstructive sleep apnea has been granted, with the effective date set at June 25, 2019.
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