The Veteran's claims for effective dates earlier than August 26, 2013 for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus have been denied.,The Veteran's claim for reopening of his diabetes mellitus, type II, has been granted. The Board is remanding the issue to determine if he was exposed to herbicide agents during service.,The Veteran's claims for prostate cancer and lung cancer are being remanded due to potential exposure to herbicide agents in Vietnam.,The Veteran's claim for hypertension is also being remanded, as it may be related to his active duty service.
The deciding factor: The effective dates cannot be earlier than August 26, 2013 because that is when the Veteran filed a reopened claim for hearing loss.,New evidence shows that diabetes mellitus, type II, may be associated with herbicide exposure. The Board needs to determine if the Veteran was exposed during service.,Prostate cancer and lung cancer are potentially related to herbicide exposure in Vietnam. The Board must investigate this possibility.,Hypertension is not on the presumptive list for Agent Orange exposure. However, it may be related to active duty service.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, diabetes mellitus, type II, prostate cancer, lung cancer, hypertension
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 6, 2019
- Citation
- 19135091
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,037 · Granted: 21% (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 19135091.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
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