The Veteran's service connection claim for alopecia areata, including as due to herbicide agent exposure and/or the service-connected PTSD, is denied. The Board found that alopecia areata is not etiologically related to herbicide agent exposure or PTSD.
The deciding factor: Alopecia areata was not caused by or worsened in severity by the service-connected PTSD disability, and there is no evidence of a relationship between herbicide agent exposure and alopecia areata.
- Claimed conditions
- alopecia areata
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 22, 2019
- Citation
- 19179742
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,200 · Granted: 43% (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 19179742.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for alopecia areata was dismissed because she submitted a request for Higher Level Review (HLR) before filing her Notice of Disagreement, which constitutes an impermissible concurrent election.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for an increased disability rating for other specified stressor and trauma related disorder, as well as service connection for alopecia areata, were both denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a 100% disability rating for the former condition or establish service connection for the latter.
- Granted
Service connection for obstructive sleep apnea is granted.,Service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability, to include as due to exposure to ionizing radiation, asbestos, and lead paint, is denied.,Service connection for alopecia areata, to include as due to exposure to ionizing radiation, asbestos, and lead paint, is denied.,Secondary service connection for fatigue (claimed as fatigue) is granted.,Secondary service connection for cognitive slowing (claimed as memory and concentration difficulties) is granted.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for hair loss (alopecia areata) as secondary to service-connected prostate cancer. The Veteran's other claims of service connection for various conditions related to Gulf War exposure were denied.
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