The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment.
The deciding factor: The Veteran has maintained full strength, intact sensation, and normal reflexes despite his pain symptoms. His headaches have a mild impact on his ability to work, and he can function during them with medication.
- Claimed conditions
- Back Pain, Sleep Apnea with Small Calcified Granulomas and Peripheral Noncalcified Nodules, Mild Diffuse Disc Bulge and Mild Degenerative Disc Disease at L4-5, Tinnitus, Right Foot Stress Fracture, Hypertension, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), Headaches
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 80%
- Decision date
- October 4, 2021
- Citation
- 21061463
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,911 · Granted: 10% (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 21061463.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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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.
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- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and active duty service or herbicide exposure.
- 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.
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