The Board has granted service connection for coronary artery disease (CAD) and hearing loss, but remanded the issue of service connection for hypothyroidism due to lack of relevant VA treatment records. The Veteran is presumed exposed to herbicide agents in Vietnam.
The deciding factor: The evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether the Veteran's CAD is related to in-service exposure to herbicide agents, and hearing loss may be related to service based on a presumption of exposure to herbicide agents. Hypothyroidism was not found to be presumptively related to herbicide agent exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- CAD, hypothyroidism, hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 19, 2019
- Citation
- 19186975
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,500 · Granted: 29% (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 19186975.
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 hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- Granted
The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for hearing loss and tinnitus. However, it was determined that the Veteran does not have a current disability of bilateral hearing loss or tinnitus for VA purposes, thus denying both claims.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's initial compensable evaluation for hypothyroidism is denied, and the Board finds that service connection for lumbar degenerative disc disease and bilateral foot condition should be remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of hypothyroidism and therefore denied their claim for service connection.
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