The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, ulcerative colitis (claimed as residual of exposure to Agent Orange), and Type II diabetes mellitus (also claimed as residual of exposure to Agent Orange). The decision found that there was no evidence linking these conditions to his military service or to exposure to herbicides like Agent Orange.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that the Veteran's current disabilities were not shown to have been present in service, nor are they linked to any incident or incidents of his period of active military service, including exposure to Agent Orange.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Ulcerative Colitis, Type II Diabetes Mellitus
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 14, 2010
- Citation
- 1038543
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 1038543.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. The issue remains under direct service connection theory.
- Denied
The Veteran's hearing loss was rated at 30 percent, the highest non-compensable rating available. The Board found that his hearing loss did not warrant a higher rating based on VA examinations and medical records.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current hearing loss and his active service. The Board noted that while he had complaints of earaches in service, these did not indicate a current disability.
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