The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is not service-connected as it is more likely due to natural aging rather than in-service noise exposure.,Diabetes mellitus type II was not incurred during active service and did not develop within one year of discharge. The current diagnosis is attributed to the aging process.,Service connection for anxiety disorder prior to March 30, 2010, and an earlier effective date for a 50 percent rating are denied as new evidence does not support reopening of these claims.,The Veteran's heart condition, hypertension, and right and left hand conditions were previously denied in the March 2012 decision. New evidence has been submitted to reopen these claims.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the evidence shows that the current hearing loss is not related to service due to natural aging rather than noise exposure.,There is no evidence showing diabetes mellitus type II was incurred during active service or within one year post-service, and it developed as a result of the aging process.,New evidence does not support reopening of claims for anxiety disorder prior to March 30, 2010, and an earlier effective date for a 50 percent rating.,The new evidence submitted by the Veteran is sufficient to reopen the claims for heart condition, hypertension, and right and left hand conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, diabetes mellitus type II, anxiety disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 4, 2019
- Citation
- 19101150
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.
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- Denied
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- Partly granted
The Veteran's tinnitus is granted, while fibromyalgia, internal or external hemorrhoids, bilateral hearing loss, and neuropathy are denied.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding it at least as likely as not related to the Veteran's in-service noise exposure.
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