Diabetes decisions — 2016

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability, tinnitus, and type II diabetes mellitus. The VA audiological examination indicated that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is not related to his in-service noise exposure. Service connection was also denied for type II diabetes mellitus as there is no evidence linking it to herbicide exposure.

The Veteran seeks service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, which he contends is due to his stateside exposure to herbicides/Agent Orange during service. The case is being remanded for further action.

The Veteran's claims for glaucoma, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, bilateral knee arthritis and rheumatism, heart disability, and sinusitis are denied as there is no evidence of in-service incurrence or a relationship to service.,The Veteran's current hypertension condition is not related to his service. The Board finds that the weight of the evidence does not support a finding that the Veteran's current heart conditions (coronary artery disease and hypertensive cardiovascular disease) are related to service.,The Veteran's diabetes mellitus claim is denied as there is no in-service incurrence or relationship to service. Additionally, he is not entitled to presumptive service connection based on herbicide exposure.,Bilateral knee arthritis and rheumatism claims are denied as the Veteran did not have an in-service injury or disease that would support a grant of service connection. The Board also finds no evidence of continuity of symptomatology between his current condition and service.,The Veteran's heart disability (coronary artery disease and hypertensive cardiovascular disease) claim is denied as there is no evidence of in-service incurrence or relationship to service. Additionally, the weight of the evidence does not support a finding that these conditions are related to herbicide exposure.,The Veteran's sinusitis claim is granted as it is secondary to his service-connected rhinitis.

The Veteran's claimed conditions of diabetes mellitus, bilateral diabetic lower extremity sensory peripheral neuropathy, and nerve damage of the toes of both feet were not found to be related to service or herbicide exposure. The Board denied all claims for service connection.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension is dismissed. The Board grants the Veteran's claim for service connection for diabetes mellitus, finding that it was caused by herbicide exposure during his naval service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including new VA examinations to assess the severity of his service-connected diabetic peripheral neuropathy and a VA examination to determine his employability.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including VA examinations to assess the severity of his service-connected diabetes mellitus and PTSD, obtaining relevant medical records, translating documents from Spanish, and developing the claim for TDIU.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment.

The Board found that the Veteran's diabetes mellitus, type I, is not caused by or aggravated by service and therefore denied her claim for service connection.

The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, left shoulder disability, right shoulder disability, thoracic spine (upper back) disability, and fibromyalgia. The Veteran's DM was not found to be related to his military service or exposure to herbicides.

The Veteran's claims for glaucoma with left eye blindness, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus have been reopened. The right knee disorder claim remains denied.,Service connection for the right knee disorder is not granted as there is no evidence of a chronic condition in service or within one year after discharge.

The Board denied service connection for the claimed conditions, finding that there was no evidence of in-service exposure to herbicides and that the Veteran's current disabilities are not related to his military service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran was exposed to herbicides during his service in Panama and, therefore, diabetes mellitus, type II is presumptively related to his period of active duty service.

The Veteran's prostate cancer and diabetes mellitus are presumed to have been incurred as a result of his exposure to herbicides during service. The Board finds the Veteran set foot in Vietnam, establishing presumptive exposure.

The Board has determined that additional medical records are needed from the Veteran's service at Roosevelt Roads Naval Station and Gorgas Army Hospital to properly adjudicate the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death. The case is being remanded to allow for this development.

The Board has granted earlier effective dates for the grants of service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the right upper extremity, left upper extremity, right lower extremity, and left lower extremity.,The Veteran's claim for hypertension was also granted with an effective date of May 15, 2006. However, he is not entitled to an earlier effective date for diabetic nephropathy as the earliest diagnosis was in December 28, 2011.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's service connection claims for heart disorder, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, bilateral foot disability, and left knee arthritis have been denied due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings were granted, effective September 13, 2007. Effective dates of earlier dates are not applicable as the claims have been fully granted.

The Veteran has been granted service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II and erectile dysfunction as a result of herbicide exposure in service.,Service connection was also granted for prostate cancer due to herbicide exposure.

The Veteran's diabetes mellitus, type II is currently rated at 20 percent and does not warrant a higher rating. The Board finds that the Veteran meets the schedular requirements for TDIU due to his combined service-connected disability ratings of 90 percent.