The Veteran's claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, and skin cancer were denied. The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss from September 10, 2012 to February 19, 2019 was denied, while his claim for an evaluation in excess of 20 percent for bilateral hearing loss since February 20, 2019 was also denied.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's claims were not supported by evidence showing service connection or exposure to herbicides. The VA did not find any credible evidence that the Veteran served in Vietnam and thus could not presume his exposure to Agent Orange. Additionally, there was no medical evidence demonstrating a compensable level of hearing loss at any time during the appeal period.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, skin cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 13, 2019
- Citation
- A19000886
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 A19000886.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for prostate cancer, related to in-service exposures at Camp Lejeune.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for hypertension and diabetes mellitus to obtain further medical opinions regarding their potential relationship to toxic exposures during active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran is granted an effective date of April 25, 2014, for service connection for prostate cancer.
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