The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is related to his in-service noise exposure and granted service connection for this condition. Service connection was also granted for diabetes mellitus, type I, but not secondary to a pre-existing eye or foot disorder. The Board found no evidence of continuity of symptoms for the claimed eye and foot disorders.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners provided conflicting opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's hearing loss and eye/foot disorders, with one examiner finding it less likely than not related to service while another found a plausible connection based on noise exposure. The Board decided in favor of granting service connection for bilateral hearing loss but denied secondary service connection for the eye and foot disorders.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, diabetes mellitus, type I, bilateral eye disorder (diabetic retinopathy), bilateral foot disorder (diabetic peripheral neuropathy)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 20, 2017
- Citation
- 1759221
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 1759221.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss claim, specifically needing an addendum opinion from a VA examiner. The Veteran will be asked to provide any missing records and former employers' information.
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