The Veteran's appeals for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) have been dismissed. The remaining claims of service connection for lumbar spine disability, bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, bilateral knee disability, left hip disability, left ankle disability, bilateral shin splints, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, migraine headaches, hepatitis, and asthma are remanded.
The deciding factor: The Veteran withdrew her appeals for obstructive sleep apnea and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) during the July 2019 Board hearing.
- Claimed conditions
- obstructive sleep apnea, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), lumbar spine disability, bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy, bilateral knee disability, left hip disability, left ankle disability, bilateral shin splints, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, migraine headaches, hepatitis, asthma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 23, 2019
- Citation
- 19195856
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 19195856.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, effective from the date of the February 2025 rating decision.
- Granted
The Veteran's migraine headaches were granted a 50 percent disability rating, effective August 8, 2023, due to very frequent completely prostrating and prolonged attacks that are productive of severe economic inadaptability.
- Granted
The Board granted a rating of 70 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI), as the Veteran's symptoms most nearly approximated occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
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