The Veteran's claims for service connection for chronic tonsillitis, sinusitis (secondary to chronic tonsillitis), tracheitis (secondary to chronic tonsillitis), and bronchitis (secondary to chronic tonsillitis) have all been denied as there is no probative evidence indicating these conditions were incurred in or caused by his active service.
The deciding factor: The medical records do not support a finding of current diagnoses for sinusitis, tracheitis, or bronchitis, and the Veteran's claims are based on secondary service connection which requires a link to an already service-connected condition. The Veteran has not provided sufficient evidence to establish such a link.
- Claimed conditions
- Chronic Tonsillitis
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 21, 2020
- Citation
- 20027931
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 20027931.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic tonsillitis, did not render him unemployable prior to July 18, 2019. The Board found that the evidence does not show anything out of the ordinary or not average in his situation as a result of these service-connected disabilities.
- 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.
- Granted
The Veteran's major depressive disorder is found to be caused by his service-connected low back and radiculopathy disabilities, which prevent him from doing enjoyable activities and daily living tasks.
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