The Veteran's residuals of cold injuries (onychomycosis and peripheral neuropathy) of both lower extremities, as well as his bilateral hearing loss, are all found to be related to service. The Board granted service connection for these conditions.
The deciding factor: Service connection was established based on the presumption that exposure to combat in Korea during cold weather resulted in cold injuries, which led to current disabilities including onychomycosis and peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities. Bilateral hearing loss is presumed due to acoustic trauma sustained in service.
- Claimed conditions
- onychomycosis, peripheral neuropathy
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- February 8, 2012
- Citation
- 1204934
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 1204934.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an initial compensable disability rating for onychomycosis was denied as the condition did not require treatment and covered less than 5% of his body. The Board also remanded issues regarding service connection for left ear hearing loss and entitlement to a compensable disability rating for right ear hearing loss.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings of his service-connected toenail disabilities and service connection for lumbosacral strain, joint pain, and an acquired psychiatric disorder are being remanded due to the need for further development.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeals for all the listed conditions in April 2024 and March 2025, thus dismissing the appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's onychomycosis is rated under the old criteria and remanded for further development to determine if systemic therapy, such as fluconazole, is similar to corticosteroids or immunosuppressive drugs.
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