The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for lack of concentration, finding that his symptoms were related to his already service-connected tinnitus and did not constitute a separate disability.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not show a current diagnosis of a separate chronic disability manifested by lack of concentration, which is considered as a symptom of tinnitus.
- Claimed conditions
- lack of concentration
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 7, 2020
- Citation
- 20065071
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,861 · Granted: 27% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 20065071.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a toenail disability and a neck rash, but denied service connection for memory loss, lack of concentration, left knee, and right knee disabilities. The Board also granted an effective date of June 11, 2008, for the 30 percent rating assigned for left heel spur.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection for adjustment disorder with depressed mood. The decision was based on the lack of new and material evidence within one year of previous denials.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for all claimed conditions except for the penile condition, which was remanded.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error, specifically regarding the VA examiner's opinion on the Veteran's claimed condition of memory loss and lack of concentration. The Veteran is requested to undergo a neuropsychological evaluation by an appropriate clinician to address his symptoms under both direct service connection theory and presumptive service connection for Gulf War syndrome.
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