The veteran's impaired vision is not the result of disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by service, and there is no evidence that it is proximately due to or chronically worsened by his service-connected diabetes mellitus.
The deciding factor: The veteran's impaired vision was first manifested many years after service, and there is no competent evidence that it is related to his service or his service-connected diabetes mellitus. Refractive error is not considered a disease for which service connection may be established under VA regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- otitis interna, impaired vision
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 30, 2008
- Citation
- 0814266
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for tinnitus and denied it for sinusitis. Other claims were remanded for further development.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for right foot peripheral neuropathy, left foot peripheral neuropathy, impaired vision, and retinal hemorrhages as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected leukemia.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for service connection on the merits was denied. The claims were remanded for further action.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for joint pain and bone spurs, hair loss, skin disability, gynecological disability, psychiatric disability (other than PTSD), impaired vision, bilateral knee disability, kidney disability, and chronic fatigue syndrome as there was no evidence of a chronic disability present in service or etiologically related to military service.
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