The Veteran's claim for service connection for a thyroid disability was denied due to lack of new and material evidence.,Service connection for bilateral hearing loss is granted, but the Veteran does not meet the criteria for an initial rating in excess of 20 percent.,Service connection for gout is denied as there is no evidence it began during active service or is related to a service-connected condition.,Service connection for a back disability is denied due to lack of evidence that it began during active service or is related to a service-connected condition.,Service connection for a prostate disability is denied as there is no evidence it began during active service or is related to a service-connected condition.,Service connection for a kidney disability is denied as there is no evidence it began during active service or is related to a service-connected condition.,Service connection for a left ankle disability is denied due to lack of evidence that it began during active service or is related to a service-connected condition.,Service connection for a right knee disability is denied due to lack of evidence that it began during active service or is related to a service-connected condition.,Service connection for headaches and obstructive sleep apnea are granted as they are caused by the Veteran's service-connected PTSD.,Effective dates prior to July 9, 2015, for bilateral hearing loss and left knee osteoarthritis are denied.

The deciding factor: The evidence does not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim of entitlement to service connection for a thyroid disability due to lack of new and material evidence.,The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is manifested by Level V and VI hearing acuity in the right and left ears, respectively, which do not meet the criteria for an initial rating in excess of 20 percent under Diagnostic Code 6100.,There is no evidence that gout began during active service or is related to a service-connected condition.,The Veteran's back disability does not have a documented onset during active service and lacks evidence of being related to a service-connected condition.,Prostate disability was not shown to have begun during active service or be related to a service-connected condition.,Kidney disability was not shown to have begun during active service or be related to a service-connected condition.,Left ankle disability does not have a documented onset during active service and lacks evidence of being related to a service-connected condition.,Right knee disability does not have a documented onset during active service and lacks evidence of being related to a service-connected condition.,Headaches and obstructive sleep apnea are caused by the Veteran's service-connected PTSD, which is sufficient for service connection.,The earliest document in the claims file that may be accepted as a claim for bilateral hearing loss was filed on July 9, 2015.

Claimed conditions

Thyroid disability, Bilateral hearing loss, Gout, Back disability, Prostate disability, Kidney disability, Left ankle disability, Right knee disability, Headaches, Obstructive sleep apnea

How they argued it

Direct service connection

Exposure basis

None

Rating

Not verified here — check the original decision

Decision date

May 17, 2022

Citation

22028888

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 22028888.