The Veteran's claims for service connection for sleep apnea and tinnitus were denied, while the claim for a respiratory disability was also denied. The Veteran was granted a 60 percent rating for his stomach disability from October 28, 2014 to February 7, 2017, but this rating is subject to regulations governing monetary benefits.,The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for the stomach disability and BHL were denied. The stomach disability claim was remanded.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of evidence did not support a finding that sleep apnea or tinnitus were incurred in service, nor could there be a nexus between these conditions and service.,There is no current diagnosis of a respiratory disability. The Veteran's testimony indicated the onset of tinnitus was five to six years prior to the 2015 examination, which did not occur until decades after separation from service.,The stomach disability claim was granted for a period from October 28, 2014 to February 7, 2017. The Veteran's testimony indicated that his tinnitus began five or six years prior to the January 2015 examination.
- Claimed conditions
- Sleep Apnea, Tinnitus, Respiratory Disability (as claimed), Gastric Ulcer, Chronic Gastritis, Status Post Gastrectomy with Associated Surgical Scar
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- October 6, 2020
- Citation
- 20064699
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,858 · Granted: 24% (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 20064699.
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