The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right shoulder disability, bilateral hearing loss, and hemorrhoids. The appeals for headaches, cell-mediated immunity, chronic fatigue syndrome, bilateral elbow disability, keratosis pilaris on back of arms (also claimed as skin condition), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), gastrointestinal disability other than GERD, bilateral knee disability, and Gulf War Illness/Syndrome have been withdrawn by the Veteran.
The deciding factor: The Veteran did not provide sufficient evidence to establish service connection for these conditions due to lack of in-service injury or exposure, absence of current disabilities, and failure to meet the nexus requirement.
- Claimed conditions
- right shoulder disability, bilateral hearing loss, hemorrhoids
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 21, 2019
- Citation
- 19179791
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,726 · Granted: 19% (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 19179791.
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.
- 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's right shoulder disability and migraines/chronic headaches are remanded for additional development due to insufficient opinions on the etiology of her conditions.
- 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 bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.