The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability is denied as it did not have its onset during active service or within one year of discharge.,The Veteran's weight fluctuation, gastrointestinal disability (other than constipation), erectile dysfunction, urinary frequency, diabetes mellitus, and tooth loss are all denied as they were not related to exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune or lumbar spine osteoarthritis.,Bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy is granted as it is proximately due to service-connected lumbar spine osteoarthritis.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's current right ear hearing loss disability did not have its onset during active service and is not otherwise related to active service, to include as secondary to exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune and/or secondary to lumbar spine osteoarthritis.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Weight Fluctuation, Gastrointestinal Disability (other than constipation), Erectile Dysfunction, Urinary Frequency, Diabetes Mellitus, Bilateral Lower Extremity Radiculopathy, Tooth Loss
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 3, 2019
- Citation
- 19125044
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,911 · Granted: 10% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19125044.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. The issue remains under direct service connection theory.
- Denied
The Veteran's hearing loss was rated at 30 percent, the highest non-compensable rating available. The Board found that his hearing loss did not warrant a higher rating based on VA examinations and medical records.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current hearing loss and his active service. The Board noted that while he had complaints of earaches in service, these did not indicate a current disability.
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