The Veteran's claim for non-specific urethritis is denied as he does not have a current disability.,The Veteran's claim for bilateral hearing loss is denied as his auditory thresholds do not meet the criteria for a disability under VA regulations.,New and relevant evidence has been submitted to reopen the Veteran's claim of service connection for erectile dysfunction, including as secondary to diabetes mellitus. The matter will be remanded for further examination and opinion.,The Veteran's claim for back disability is remanded due to the combat presumption established by his participation in naval combat operations.,The Veteran's claim for right knee disability is remanded due to the combat presumption established by his participation in naval combat operations.,The Veteran's claim for hypertension is remanded as there was no diagnosis of hypertension at entry into service and the issue involves presumed exposure to herbicide agents.
The deciding factor: For non-specific urethritis, the evidence does not show a current disability or any signs/symptoms similar to urethritis.,For bilateral hearing loss, audiometric testing did not meet the criteria for a disability under VA regulations.,For erectile dysfunction, new and relevant evidence has been submitted that may relate the condition to service-connected diabetes mellitus. The matter will be remanded for further examination and opinion.,For back disability, the Veteran's participation in combat during active service is sufficient to establish an in-service event or injury.,For right knee disability, the Veteran's participation in combat during active service is sufficient to establish an in-service event or injury.,For hypertension, there was no diagnosis of hypertension at entry into service and the issue involves presumed exposure to herbicide agents.
- Claimed conditions
- non-specific urethritis, bilateral hearing loss, erectile dysfunction, back disability, right knee disability, hypertension
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 24, 2019
- Citation
- 19157181
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 19157181.
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 Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess his bilateral knee and hip disabilities.
- 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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for diabetes mellitus type II with erectile dysfunction was denied as the evidence did not show that he had been diagnosed and manifested to at least a 10 percent disability rating on or prior to May 8, 2001.
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