The Veteran's claims for service connection have been reopened and granted. The restoration of a 30 percent rating for disfiguring chin and lip scars effective April 29, 2016 has also been granted.
The deciding factor: New evidence submitted by the Veteran raised a reasonable possibility of substantiating his claims for service connection for hypertension and right ear hearing loss, leading to their reopening. The hyperpigmentation and hypopigmentation were found to be caused by his service-connected tinea versicolor and tinea pedis. The restoration of a 30 percent rating for disfiguring chin and lip scars effective April 29, 2016 was granted based on the improvement in the physical condition.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertension, right ear hearing loss, skin hyperpigmentation and hypopigmentation, disfiguring chin and lip scars
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- November 15, 2019
- Citation
- 19186191
Veterans Law Judge
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 19186191.
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.
- 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to conflicting opinions regarding service connection for peripheral neuropathy, hypertension, and skin disabilities related to herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension and increased rating for anxiety disorder have been denied. The Board found that there is no evidence of a current disability meeting the criteria for hypertension, and the Veteran's anxiety disorder does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
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