The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluations for various conditions, including diabetes mellitus, left ear hearing loss, hiatal hernia with Barrett's esophagus, and facial and neck scarring. The preponderance of evidence did not support higher ratings under VA rating criteria.
The deciding factor: The veteran’s DM does not require insulin use, his left ear hearing loss is only level I, and he has no significant service-connected disabilities that would warrant separate disability ratings for noncompensable complications of DM. The Board found the preponderance of evidence against higher evaluations based on VA rating criteria.
- Claimed conditions
- Diabetes Mellitus, Left Ear Hearing Loss, Hiatal Hernia with Barrett's Esophagus, Residuals of Maxilla and Mandible Fractures, Facial and Neck Scarring, Skull Fracture with Multiple Complaints, Including Headaches, Compression Fractures D12 and L1
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 3, 2006
- Citation
- 0606153
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,272 · Granted: 31% (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 0606153.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's appeal was granted for various disabilities, including service connection for depressive disorder and increased evaluations for diabetic peripheral neuropathy affecting multiple nerve groups. A SMC based on need for aid and attendance was also awarded.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for right ear hearing loss and a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence to support these claims based on in-service noise exposure or other theories.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection for hypertension and diabetes are being remanded due to the need for a VA examination to determine the etiology of these conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran's initial PCAFC application was granted in December 2022, effective from December 21, 2022. The Board found that the criteria for eligibility were met since his initial application in December 2020.
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