The Board has granted service connection for coronary artery disease and bilateral hearing loss, both linked to in-service herbicide exposure.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service records confirm his in-service herbicide exposure. The VA examiner found the Veteran had non-obstructive CAD but also noted a diagnosis of CAD without specifying it as non-obstructive. Given the lack of an adequate negative nexus opinion and the Veteran’s credible statements, service connection was granted for bilateral hearing loss.
- Claimed conditions
- Coronary artery disease (CAD), bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 5, 2020
- Citation
- 20009880
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 20009880.
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.
- 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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