The Veteran's claims for service connection for various disabilities, including bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, sleep apnea, heart disability, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, type II, and neuropathies were denied as the evidence did not support a link to his active service or herbicide exposure.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner concluded that the Veteran's current hearing loss and tinnitus are more likely due to normal aging rather than in-service noise exposure. The heart disability was attributed to post-surgery complications, hypertension was linked to recent diagnoses, diabetes mellitus type II is not related to service, and neuropathies were attributed to pre-existing conditions or diabetes.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss disability, tinnitus, sleep apnea, heart disability (claimed as ischemic heart disease and/or heart problems), hypertension, diabetes mellitus, type II, left lower extremity neuropathy, right lower extremity neuropathy, left upper extremity neuropathy, right upper extremity neuropathy, acquired psychiatric disorder (claimed as depression and anxiousness with insomnia)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 14, 2020
- Citation
- 20060248
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 20060248.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
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 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service connected. The issues of foot disability and cardiovascular disorder are remanded for additional development.
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