The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and gastrointestinal stromal tumor, to include as due to exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.,For bilateral hearing loss, there was no evidence of current disability meeting VA criteria. For gastrointestinal stromal tumor, the claim was denied based on lack of a causal relationship with service or presumed exposure.
The deciding factor: The Veteran did not meet the criteria for a diagnosis of right ear hearing loss for VA purposes at any point during the appeal period and there is no evidence showing that his left ear hearing loss disability had its onset in service or within a year of service discharge.,There was no evidence of treatment for GIST until 2010, which is over 30 years after service. The Veteran's diagnosed GIST is not one of the enumerated diseases presumed to be caused by exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, gastrointestinal stromal tumor
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 24, 2019
- Citation
- 19105893
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
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