Service connection granted for Parkinson's Disease, Lewy body dementia, and an acquired psychiatric condition (including PTSD and anxiety disorder).,Initial evaluation of 70 percent disabling for bilateral hearing loss.
The deciding factor: The Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents in Vietnam, which is presumed to cause Parkinson’s disease. The Lewy body dementia is considered secondary to the service-connected Parkinson's Disease. PTSD and anxiety disorder were diagnosed based on combat experiences. Bilateral hearing loss meets the criteria for a 100% evaluation due to exceptional patterns of hearing impairment.
- Claimed conditions
- Parkinson's Disease, Lewy body dementia, Acquired psychiatric condition (including PTSD and anxiety disorder), Bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- January 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19101371
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, as there was no evidence of a current disability in the right ear and insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between the left ear hearing loss and service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for a medical clarification regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected epilepsy has aggravated his bilateral hearing loss.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss to obtain an addendum opinion addressing the Veteran's lay statements regarding in-service acoustic trauma and a rocket blast injury.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 17, 2019, for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD but denied earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
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