The Board granted the status as a surviving spouse for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) purposes, denied service connection for right hand arthritis and obstructive sleep apnea, granted service connection for chronic myelocytic leukemia, and denied earlier effective dates for tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss. The claims for increased ratings and other remanded issues were also addressed.
The deciding factor: The probative evidence of record did not demonstrate an etiological relationship between the Veteran's right hand arthritis and obstructive sleep apnea to service, but it did show a relationship with chronic myelocytic leukemia. There was no earlier intent to file or claim for benefits prior to December 27, 2017, as it pertains to the claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Claimed conditions
- right hand arthritis, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML), tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 4, 2025
- Citation
- A25104685
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