The Board granted service connection for hypertension and tinnitus, but denied service connection for depression, chronic ear infections, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), acne, arthritis, heart attack, thyroid disability, right shoulder disability, left shoulder disability, catarrhal fever (common cold), foot disability, ventral hernia, dental disability, and a rating in excess of 70 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder with bipolar spectrum disorder prior to January 3, 2025.

The deciding factor: The decision was based on the weight of the evidence not supporting service connection for most conditions, but supporting it for hypertension and tinnitus due to reasonable doubt being resolved in favor of the Veteran.

Claimed conditions

depression, chronic ear infections, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), acne, arthritis, heart attack, thyroid disability, hypertension, right shoulder disability, left shoulder disability, catarrhal fever (common cold), foot disability, ventral hernia, dental disability, tinnitus

How they argued it

Direct service connection

Exposure basis

None

Rating assigned

None in this decision

Decision date

October 21, 2025

Citation

A25090820

Want to see how appeals like this one tend to go? Appeals like mine