The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions have been denied as there is no evidence of such conditions during or within one year after service, and the preponderance of the evidence does not support a finding that any current disabilities are related to service.
The deciding factor: There was no evidence of hearing loss, sleep apnea, neck disorder, hand disorders, elbow disorders, hip disorders, lumbar spine disorder, tailbone disorder, foot disorders, ankle disorders, or knee disorders during service. The Veteran's post-service medical records do not show any continuity of symptoms related to these conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, sleep apnea, neck disorder, right-hand disorder, left-hand disorder, right elbow disorder, left elbow disorder, right hip disorder, left hip disorder, lumbar spine disorder, tailbone disorder, right foot disorder, left foot disorder, right ankle disorder, left ankle disorder, right knee disorder, left knee disorder, right shoulder disorder, left shoulder disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 21, 2020
- Citation
- 20080210
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,038 · Granted: 30% (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 20080210.
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.
- 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 case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and providing proper notice regarding secondary service connection.
- 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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