The Veteran's appeals for increased rating for left knee disability, service connection for glaucoma and prostate disorder, special monthly compensation (SMC), and service connection for lumbar spine disability have been dismissed.,The Veteran's appeal for service connection for prostate disorder has been dismissed.,The Veteran's appeal for service connection for glaucoma has been dismissed.,The Veteran's appeal for service connection for a lumbar spine disability is granted, but the claim remains pending as it was previously denied in April 2000 and reopened based on new evidence. The claim is still denied due to lack of medical evidence linking the condition to service.,The Veteran's appeal for service connection for hypertension has been dismissed.,The Veteran's appeals for service connection for a left foot disability, obstructive sleep apnea, left ankle disability, right knee disability, and cervical spine (neck) disability have been remanded as further development is needed.,The Veteran's appeals for service connection for headache disability, traumatic brain injury (TBI), bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus have been remanded as further development is needed.

The deciding factor: The Veteran withdrew his appeals for the aforementioned issues during a June 2019 Board hearing.,In April 2000, the RO denied service connection for lumbar spine disability. The current evidence does not establish that the condition is related to service.,New evidence received since April 2000 relates to the Veteran's claim for service connection for his lumbar spine disability and establishes a relationship with an in-service event.,The probative evidence does not support a finding of a causal link between the Veteran’s current lumbar spine disability and military service.,There is no medical evidence showing that hypertension began during service or is related to any in-service injury, disease, or event. The condition was first diagnosed 24 years after separation from service.,The Veteran's left foot disability is not shown to be related to an in-service event, injury, or disease. There is no evidence of a current disability that began during service and the Veteran has not provided any medical opinion linking his current disability to military service.,Obstructive sleep apnea must be remanded for further development as there is insufficient evidence regarding its onset and etiology.,Left ankle and right knee disabilities require further examination and opinions due to their potential secondary relationship with other service-connected conditions.,Service connection for TBI and headache disability requires a VA examination to determine the presence of these conditions and their relation to military service.,Bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus must be remanded as there is insufficient evidence regarding the current existence of these disabilities.

Claimed conditions

left knee, lumbar spine, prostate disorder, glaucoma, hypertension, left foot disability, obstructive sleep apnea, left ankle, right knee, neck, psychiatric disability

How they argued it

Not specified

Exposure basis

None

Rating assigned

None in this decision

Decision date

December 31, 2019

Citation

19196701

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 19196701.