The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings were denied. The Board found no evidence of a nexus between the claimed conditions and service, except for hypertension secondary to diabetes mellitus.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners did not find a link between the current disabilities and service, with the exception of hypertension which was deemed secondary to diabetes mellitus.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Hypertension (secondary to diabetes mellitus), Eye Disability (refractive error and benign senile cataracts), Kidney Disability (bilateral renal cortical cysts), Atheromatous Aorta, Peripheral Neuropathy of the Lower Extremities (left and right lower extremities), Peripheral Neuropathy of the Upper Extremities (left and right upper extremities), Diabetes Mellitus, Type II, Hepatomegaly (fatty liver disease)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 21, 2017
- Citation
- 1753476
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 1753476.
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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