The Veteran's service connection claim for pseudofolliculitis barbae is denied as there is no evidence of a current disability.,Service connection is granted for bilateral hearing loss, with the presumption that it was caused by herbicide agent exposure during active duty at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand.,The Veteran's service connection claim for diabetes mellitus type II due to herbicide agents exposure is granted based on his credible lay statements and military personnel records indicating significant contact with the air base perimeter.
The deciding factor: There is no current diagnosis of pseudofolliculitis barbae in the Veteran's medical records.,The VA examiner found that the Veteran’s hearing loss was less likely caused by service, but a private audiologist provided a positive nexus opinion based on the Veteran's lay statements and civilian records.,The Veteran served at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base where he worked near the air base perimeter. His military personnel records support his claim of significant contact with the air base.
- Claimed conditions
- pseudofolliculitis barbae, bilateral hearing loss, diabetes mellitus type II
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 30, 2019
- Citation
- 19167543
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,797 · Granted: 20% (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 19167543.
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.
- 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.
- 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 bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
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