The Veteran's claim for initial ratings for chronic hoarseness and xerostomia (dry mouth) and difficulty swallowing as residuals of squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx is granted. The rating assigned for chronic hoarseness is 10 percent, while the rating assigned for xerostomia and difficulty swallowing is also 30 percent.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's symptoms were found to be analogous to known clinical entities (chronic laryngitis with inflammation of cords or mucous membrane for hoarseness; moderate stricture of the esophagus for xerostomia and difficulty swallowing).
- Claimed conditions
- chronic hoarseness, xerostomia (dry mouth), difficulty swallowing
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- July 16, 2018
- Citation
- 18118714
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 18118714.
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
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Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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