The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is currently assigned a 10 percent evaluation. The Board has determined that the evidence supports a 20 percent evaluation for his bilateral hearing loss.,Service connection for type II diabetes mellitus (to include as due to herbicide exposure) and service connection for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (to include as due to asbestos and herbicide exposure) are stayed. The Veteran's claims will be reconsidered after the stay is lifted.,The Veteran has current right and left knee disorders that may be related to his military service, but a VA examination is needed to determine their etiology.,An initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for supraventricular arrhythmias is remanded. The Veteran's claims will be reconsidered after the stay is lifted.,The Veteran has current right and left knee disorders that may be related to his military service, but a VA examination is needed to determine their etiology.,An initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for supraventricular arrhythmias is remanded. The Veteran's claims will be reconsidered after the stay is lifted.
The deciding factor: The evidence supports a 20 percent evaluation for bilateral hearing loss based on the audiometric findings and application of the rating schedule.,Service connection for type II diabetes mellitus (to include as due to herbicide exposure) and service connection for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (to include as due to asbestos and herbicide exposure) are stayed until the effective date of the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019.,The Veteran's right and left knee disorders may be related to his military service, but a VA examination is needed to determine their etiology.,An initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for supraventricular arrhythmias is remanded as the evidence does not support an increased rating at this time.,The Veteran's right and left knee disorders may be related to his military service, but a VA examination is needed to determine their etiology.,An initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for supraventricular arrhythmias is remanded as the evidence does not support an increased rating at this time.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Type II Diabetes Mellitus (due to herbicide exposure), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) (due to asbestos and herbicide exposure), Supraventricular arrhythmias, Right Knee Disorder, Left Knee Disorder
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19171092
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 19171092.
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 Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for asbestosis, bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), rhinitis, sinusitis, and asthma. The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was also denied a compensable rating.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD, entitlement to TDIU, and SMC based on housebound status.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various disabilities and denied higher ratings for several service-connected conditions.
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