The Board has determined that the Veteran did not develop diabetes mellitus (DM) until more than one year after his discharge from service and that any currently present DM is unrelated to his active service. The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability was noted at the time of his separation examination, but no current evidence supports a finding of in-service onset or aggravation. As for the broken teeth numbered 8 and 9, the Board finds further development is needed as the Veteran has not been provided with an appropriate VA dental examination to determine the nature and etiology of any current impairment.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of evidence does not support a finding that the Veteran's DM was incurred or aggravated by active service. The medical records do not indicate any diagnosis of DM until almost two decades after his separation from service, and there is no indication that it may be related to service-connected tinnitus.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss disability, diabetes mellitus (DM), broken teeth numbered 8 and 9
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 23, 2010
- Citation
- 1047711
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 1047711.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus but has remanded the issue of service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability due to inadequate examination and reasoning.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeal requests as they were not timely filed, and no good cause was shown for the late filing.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus, finding that there is no credible evidence linking these conditions to his active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus due to errors in providing notice of his right to a pre-decisional hearing.
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