The Veteran's tinnitus is etiologically attributable to his active service, and the Board grants service connection for this condition. The claims for bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, prostate cancer, diabetes mellitus, and PTSD are remanded due to insufficient evidence regarding exposure to herbicide agents.
The deciding factor: The Veteran provided competent and credible lay statements regarding noise exposure in service and tinnitus onset, which supports a grant of service connection for tinnitus. The claims for other conditions lack sufficient evidence regarding herbicide agent exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, prostate cancer, diabetes mellitus, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 25, 2018
- Citation
- 1804706
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 1804706.
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.
- Partly granted
The Veteran was granted a 70 percent initial disability rating for PTSD effective December 2, 2021, but the claim for an increased rating in excess of 70 percent was denied. The appeal also included claims for service connection and ratings for various conditions, some of which were granted while others were remanded.
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The Board granted service connection for asthma and remanded claims for insomnia and sleep apnea. Other conditions were denied.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for headaches and increased ratings for left shoulder rotator cuff tear, right shoulder rotator cuff tear, hypertension, and left and right leg restless leg syndrome. The Board denied a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss and an initial rating in excess of 70 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder.
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