The appellant's disabilities, including bilateral hearing loss and hypertension, are sufficient to warrant a permanent and total disability rating for nonservice-connected pension benefits.
The deciding factor: The combined evaluation of the appellant's nonservice-connected disabilities meets or exceeds the required percentage for a permanent and total disability rating under VA regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral hearing loss, Adjustment disorder with depression, Hypertension, Arthritis of the lumbosacral spine, Bilateral hips, Bilateral shoulders, Fingers of both hands, Tendonitis and bursitis of the left shoulder, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Left optic atrophy, Presbyopia, Hepatitis C, Gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD), Chronic sinusitis
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- June 26, 2001
- Citation
- 0117130
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 0117130.
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 remands the claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus type II and hypertension, to include as secondary to left orchiectomy, for further development in accordance with the PACT Act.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for depressive disorder as secondary to hypertension and tinnitus, but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and an increased rating for hypertension.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, but remanded the claim for degenerative disc disease with degenerative arthritis.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an increased rating for PTSD with alcohol use disorder and discectomy with lumbar discogenic pain but granted a 20% initial rating for left lower extremity radiculopathy from April 18, 2023 through January 16, 2024. The service connection was denied for bilateral hearing loss but granted for left knee Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD).
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