The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a left ear condition, finding that there is no diagnosis of the claimed condition and no functional impairment.
The deciding factor: There was no diagnosis of the left ear condition and the Veteran does not have any functional impairment.
- Claimed conditions
- left ear condition, otitis externa
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- December 3, 2019
- Citation
- 19190820
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,217 · Granted: 46% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19190820.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection are remanded due to the need for additional medical examinations and opinions. The issues include left ear hearing loss, cervical strain, fatigue and full body muscle pain (claimed as chronic fatigue syndrome), tinea pedis, onychomycosis and tinea corporis (claimed as full body rash and bilateral foot fungus), and bilateral vision loss.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for sleep apnea and entitlement to a TDIU due to his service-connected disabilities. The Board found that there was no evidence of in-service onset or association with service, and concluded that the Veteran's current sleep apnea is not related to his PTSD. For the TDIU claim, the Board determined that the Veteran's service-connected conditions did not prevent him from securing and maintaining gainful employment.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for various disability ratings have been dismissed due to his death. The right eye dyscoria and PTSD issues were pursued under both the Legacy Appeal system and the AMA simultaneously, but these issues are now included in the dismissal.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The appeal was granted for service connection of left ear hearing loss and OSA, but denied for hepatic steatosis. Several claims were remanded.
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