The Veteran's claim of service connection for a back disability is granted as new and material evidence has been submitted. The Veteran was denied service connection in December 1993 due to lack of evidence, but the current submission includes allegations by the Veteran regarding an injury during military training at Fort Benning, Georgia, and additional medical records establishing a current back disability.,The Veteran's claim of service connection for an eye disability is denied. The Veteran has been diagnosed with refractive error, mild allergic conjunctivitis, bilateral senile cataracts, and open angle glaucoma suspected. His current hearing loss was not caused by or related to his diabetes mellitus.,The Veteran's claim of service connection for bilateral hearing loss is granted as there is evidence of a current disability (sensorineural hearing loss) and in-service acoustic trauma has been conceded. The Veteran's hearing was normal at discharge, but he developed sensorineural hearing loss many years after service without continuity of symptomatology.,The Veteran's claim of service connection for tinnitus is denied as there is no evidence of a current disability (tinnitus).,The Veteran's claim of service connection for Barrett's esophagus is denied. The Veteran does not have, and has not had during the period on appeal, a disability consisting of colon polyps.,The Veteran's claims of service connection for colon polyps, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), diverticulitis, hemorrhoids, and GERD are all denied as there is no evidence of a current disability or any link to his active service.,The Veteran's claim of service connection for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is denied. The Veteran does not have, and has not had during the period on appeal, a disability consisting of colon polyps.,The Veteran's claim of service connection for diverticulitis is denied as there is no evidence of a current disability or any link to his active service.,The Veteran's claim of service connection for hemorrhoids is denied as there is no evidence of a current disability or any link to his active service.,The Veteran's claim of service connection for GERD is denied as there is no evidence of a current disability or any link to his active service.

The deciding factor: The new and material evidence submitted includes allegations by the Veteran regarding an injury during military training at Fort Ben, and additional medical records establishing a current back disability. The claim of entitlement to service connection for a back disability is reopened.,For the eye disabilities, there are no established diagnoses or etiologies related to diabetes mellitus. The June 2016 VA examiner opined that the Veteran's loss of vision is not secondary to Diabetes Mellitus and the senile cataracts are age-expected changes in the lens of the eye.,The Veteran’s hearing was normal at discharge, and there is no evidence of continuity of symptomatology for bilateral hearing loss. The July 2015 VA examiner opined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was less likely than not incurred in or caused by the claimed in-service injury, event or illness.,There is no evidence of a current disability (tinnitus) and the June 2016 VA examiner opined that the Veteran’s loss of vision is not secondary to Diabetes Mellitus. The senile cataracts are age-expected changes in the lens of the eye.,The Veteran does not have, and has not had during the period on appeal, a disability consisting of colon polyps. Therefore, his claim for service connection for colon polyps is denied.,There is no evidence of a current disability or any link to his active service for the conditions of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), diverticulitis, hemorrhoids, and GERD. Therefore, these claims are all denied.,The Veteran does not have, and has not had during the period on appeal, a disability consisting of colon polyps. Therefore, his claim for service connection for colon polyps is denied.,There is no evidence of a current disability or any link to his active service for diverticulitis. Therefore, this claim is denied.,There is no evidence of a current disability or any link to his active service for hemorrhoids. Therefore, this claim is denied.,There is no evidence of a current disability or any link to his active service for GERD. Therefore, this claim is denied.

Claimed conditions

Back disability, Bilateral hearing loss, Tinnitus, Barrett's esophagus, Colon polyps, Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Diverticulitis, Hemorrhoids, Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)

How they argued it

Direct service connection

Exposure basis

None

Rating assigned

None in this decision

Decision date

August 31, 2018

Citation

18131283

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 18131283.