The Veteran's unspecified depressive disorder is granted as service connected.,The Veteran's sleep apnea is granted as secondary to the service-connected unspecified depressive disorder.,The Veteran's migraine headaches are granted as secondary to both his service-connected unspecified depressive disorder and his service-connected sleep apnea.,The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service connected, with a compensable degree of disability manifested within one year of separation from service.
The deciding factor: Service connection for the Veteran’s unspecified depressive disorder was established based on evidence showing it began during active service and continued after separation. The Board found that reasonable doubt should be resolved in favor of the Veteran.,The Veteran's sleep apnea was determined to be secondary to his service-connected unspecified depressive disorder, as indicated by a private physician's opinion. The Board also considered the Veteran’s lay statements regarding his symptoms during active service and post-service.,The Veteran's migraine headaches were found to be secondary to both his service-connected unspecified depressive disorder and sleep apnea based on a private physician's opinion. The Board again considered the Veteran's lay statements about his experiences in service and after separation.,Tinnitus was granted as service connected because it manifested within one year of separation from active duty, despite the VA examiner’s initial negative opinion. The Veteran provided credible testimony regarding his tinnitus onset.
- Claimed conditions
- Unspecified depressive disorder, Sleep apnea, Migraine headaches, Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 29, 2020
- Citation
- 20070211
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,156 · Granted: 29% (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 20070211.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for sleep apnea and acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD) due to insufficient evidence of record. The Veteran is required to undergo VA examinations to determine if his conditions are related to service.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a higher rating for PTSD and dismissed his appeals regarding increased ratings for tinnitus and a right hand disability due to lack of timely filing of Notice of Disagreement.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including GAD, MDD, bruxism, migraines/headaches, tinnitus, hip pain, iliotibial band syndrome, and leg stress fractures. The evidence does not support current diagnoses of these conditions during the appeal period.
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