The Board granted service connection for headaches and lumbar spine disability, while denying service connection for traumatic brain injury (TBI), sciatica radicular pain hypoesthesia, paresthesia of the left lower extremity (LLE) and right lower extremity (RLE), cervical spine disability, radicular pain hypoesthesia, paresthesia of the left upper extremity (LUE) and right upper extremity (RUE), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), third digit of left hand, pain, third digit of right hand, pain, degenerative joint disease with impingement syndrome, right shoulder status post arthroscopy, left shoulder strain, gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD), bilateral hearing loss, hemorrhoids, and onychomycosis.
The deciding factor: The evidence is at least evenly balanced as to whether the Veteran's headaches had their onset in service. Resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor, his lumbar spine disability is at least as likely as not related to his in-service injury as a paratrooper. The evidence persuasively weighs against finding that the Veteran has had TBI or residuals of TBI, sciatica radicular pain hypoesthesia, paresthesia of the LLE and RLE, cervical spine disability, radicular pain hypoesthesia, paresthesia of the LUE and RUE, PTSD, third digit of left hand, pain, third digit of right hand, pain, degenerative joint disease with impingement syndrome, right shoulder status post arthroscopy, left shoulder strain, gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD), bilateral hearing loss, hemorrhoids, or onychomycosis at any time during the pendency of the claim.
- Claimed conditions
- traumatic brain injury (TBI), headaches, lumbar spine disability, sciatica radicular pain hypoesthesia, paresthesia of the left lower extremity (LLE), sciatica radicular pain hypoesthesia, paresthesia of the right lower extremity (RLE), cervical spine disability, radicular pain hypoesthesia, paresthesia of the left upper extremity (LUE), radicular pain hypoesthesia, paresthesia of the right upper extremity (RUE), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), third digit of left hand, pain, third digit of right hand, pain, degenerative joint disease with impingement syndrome, right shoulder status post arthroscopy, (right shoulder disability), left shoulder strain, (left shoulder disability), gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD), bilateral hearing loss, hemorrhoids, onychomycosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 25, 2025
- Citation
- A25102351
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,820 · Granted: 26% (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 A25102351.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
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.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- 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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