The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and headaches, finding that these conditions are caused or aggravated by the Veteran's service-connected shoulder and knee disabilities as well as his tinnitus.,Service connection is denied for bilateral hearing loss, residuals of a left ear infection, and a right ankle disability due to lack of diagnosis during the appeal period.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran’s obstructive sleep apnea and headaches are caused or aggravated by his service-connected shoulder and knee disabilities as well as his tinnitus.,Service connection is denied because there is no evidence of a diagnosed bilateral hearing loss, residuals of a left ear infection, or right ankle disability during the appeal period.
- Claimed conditions
- obstructive sleep apnea, headaches, bilateral hearing loss, residuals of a left ear infection, right ankle disability, deviated septum, hypertension, diabetes mellitus
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 3, 2020
- Citation
- 20000371
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,319 · Granted: 25% (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 20000371.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
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.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- 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.
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