The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is presumed to have been incurred in service due to noise exposure, and the Board finds that he has met the criteria for presumptive service connection.,The Veteran's skin disorder is not related to herbicide exposure in service. The Board finds that his current skin disorders are not linked to service.
The deciding factor: Service connection granted for bilateral hearing loss due to noise exposure during service and continuous symptoms post-service, with the presumption of service connection based on herbicide exposure in Vietnam.,Service connection denied for skin disorder as there is no evidence linking current skin disorders to herbicide exposure in service.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Skin Disorder, Arthritis in the Right Knee, Arthritis in the Left Knee
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 15, 2017
- Citation
- 1752282
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 1752282.
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.
- 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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