The Veteran's diabetes mellitus, Type II, is granted as presumptively service-connected due to herbicide exposure. The claims for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, hypertension, and peripheral neuropathy of the upper and lower extremities are remanded.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran was exposed to herbicides during service based on his credible reports of duty along the perimeter of an airbase in Thailand where tactical herbicides were used. As a result, diabetes mellitus is granted as presumptively service-connected due to herbicide exposure. The other claims are remanded for further examination and opinion regarding the relationship between current conditions and service.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, Type II, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, hypertension, peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper extremities, peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 11, 2019
- Citation
- 19145141
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,156 · Granted: 29% (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 19145141.
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.
- 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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