The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including chronic headaches, cold weather exposure residuals, dental and jaw disorders, spinal issues, and eye problems, were denied as there was no evidence of in-service incurrence or a nexus to service.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not support direct service connection for any of the claimed conditions due to lack of in-service diagnosis or treatment records that would establish an in-service event or injury.
- Claimed conditions
- Chronic Headache Disorder, Residuals of Cold Weather Exposure, Dental Disorder (including fractured molars), Jaw Disorder, Spinal Disorder (including back pain and osteoarthritis), Eye Disorder (including cataracts and pseudophakia)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 31, 2019
- Citation
- 19182696
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,162 · Granted: 21% (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 19182696.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD was granted with an effective date of September 14, 2016.,Service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were granted with an effective date of January 29, 2018.
- Partly granted
Service connection for TBI and chronic headache disorder has been granted.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea is remanded due to the need for additional evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's PTSD claim has been reopened and granted.,Tinnitus was found to be related to service, with a current disability established within one year of separation from active duty.,Right hip strain and right knee degenerative joint disease were determined to be caused by pre-existing conditions (left knee chondromalacia patella and torn meniscus, left knee degenerative joint disease, and right ankle degenerative joint disease with tendonitis).,Hemorrhoids and jaw disorder claims are remanded for further evaluation.,Sinus disorder claim is denied due to lack of current diagnosis.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for chronic headaches and obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected tinnitus.
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