The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was rated as 10 percent prior to July 1, 2017. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating.,The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss is now rated as noncompensable from July 1, 2017. The issue of entitlement to a compensable staged initial rating for bilateral hearing loss from July 1, 2017 is remanded.,Service connection for diabetes mellitus was not granted due to lack of evidence linking the condition to service.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss did not meet the criteria for a staged initial rating in excess of 10 percent prior to July 1, 2017 based on VA audiological testing results.,Further development is needed to determine if the Veteran has diabetes mellitus and whether it is related to his service, including exposure to herbicides. The Veteran's contentions regarding this need to be verified.,Service connection for diabetes mellitus was not granted because there was no evidence linking the condition to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Diabetes Mellitus
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 6, 2019
- Citation
- 19160514
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,374 · Granted: 19% (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 19160514.
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.
- 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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