The Veteran's appeal for a compensable disability rating for service-connected bilateral hearing loss has been withdrawn.,Service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and hypertension is denied as the evidence does not support an in-service occurrence or relationship to military service.,The Veteran’s claim for left hand and finger arthritis remains pending, but requires further development including a VA examination.
The deciding factor: The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the compensable disability rating for bilateral hearing loss.,There is no evidence of an in-service occurrence or relationship to military service for obstructive sleep apnea and hypertension.,Further development, including a VA examination, is needed to determine if there is any current left hand and finger arthritis.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), hypertension, left hand and finger arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 6, 2020
- Citation
- 20023501
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 20023501.
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
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