The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, as due to CHF, which was secondary to service-connected hearing loss and tinnitus.
The deciding factor: The private physician's opinion provided a plausible secondary analysis linking the Veteran's hearing loss and tinnitus to the CHF that ultimately caused his death, by means of a connection through the outpouring of stress chemicals due to the Veteran's severe hearing loss and his tinnitus, and his difficulty sleeping at night.
- Claimed conditions
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 22, 2025
- Citation
- A25046016
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 964 · Granted: 37% (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 A25046016.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claim of service connection for COPD due to duty-to-assist errors and a need for a supplemental medical opinion.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal to reduce the ratings for OSA and COPD with asthma and granuloma of the lung was denied, as well as his attempt to add a claim for service connection for aphasia secondary to TBI. The appeals were dismissed due to untimeliness.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for COPD is remanded due to a duty to assist error. The Board requests an addendum opinion from a pulmonologist or clinician with appropriate expertise to determine if the Veteran's COPD is etiologically related to his VA conceded TERA exposure, including exposure to TCDD, jet fuel and engine exhaust, hazardous chemicals, lead, vehicle engine exhaust fumes, chemical vapors, oily/hazardous waste, chemical solvents, and compressed gases.
- Denied
The Veteran's COPD was evaluated and found not to meet the criteria for a compensable disability rating based on the provided pulmonary function test results. The Board denied the claim as there is no evidence of service connection or exposure basis that would warrant a higher rating.
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