The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and an initial rating in excess of 20 percent for diabetes. The Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss was not related to his military service, as there is no evidence of hearing loss within the first post-service year or a nexus between the disability and service. For diabetes, the Board found that the Veteran did not require regulation of activities as part of his medical management, thus precluding a higher rating.
The deciding factor: The March 2017 VA audiological evaluation report against the possibility of direct service connection for bilateral hearing loss was highly probative evidence against the contention that the Veteran's current disability is related to service. For diabetes, there was no indication in the record that he required regulation of activities as part of his medical management.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, diabetes
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- January 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20006068
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 20006068.
What this means for you
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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.
- 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss claim, specifically needing an addendum opinion from a VA examiner. The Veteran will be asked to provide any missing records and former employers' information.
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