The Veteran's claim for an undiagnosed respiratory disorder is granted as there is objective evidence of a current disability and it is related to his Gulf War service.,Service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied due to the lack of evidence of a current disability meeting VA criteria.,Service connection for a disorder manifested by chest pain (iritis) is denied as the Veteran's iritis is not considered separate from his already service-connected fibromyalgia.,Service connection for Achilles tendonitis and plantar fasciitis is denied due to these conditions being related to his already service-connected fibromyalgia.,The Veteran's claims for iritis, Achilles tendonitis, and plantar fasciitis are not granted as there is no evidence of a separate disability.
The deciding factor: For the respiratory disorder claim, the VA examiner found objective indications of an undiagnosed illness related to Gulf War service.,For the hearing loss claim, the Veteran's pure tone thresholds did not meet the criteria for a current disability as defined by 38 C.F.R. § 3.385.,For the iritis claim, the VA examiner found no evidence of an undiagnosed illness and opined that it was related to his service-connected fibromyalgia.,For the Achilles tendonitis and plantar fasciitis claims, the VA examiner found these conditions were secondary to the Veteran's already service-connected fibromyalgia.,There is no separate disability for iritis, Achilles tendonitis, or plantar fasciitis.
- Claimed conditions
- undiagnosed respiratory disorder, bilateral hearing loss, disorder manifested by chest pain (iritis), Achilles tendonitis, plantar fasciitis
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 3, 2022
- Citation
- 22019817
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 22019817.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss claim, specifically needing an addendum opinion from a VA examiner. The Veteran will be asked to provide any missing records and former employers' information.
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