The Veteran's liver condition and residuals from the liver transplant are granted as secondary to service-connected diabetes mellitus. The Veteran is also granted an initial rating of 20 percent for his left ankle disability, effective August 10, 2017.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the Veteran's liver condition was at least as likely as not caused by or aggravated by his service-connected diabetes mellitus. The VA examiner also confirmed a current diagnosis of bilateral hearing loss and concluded it is less likely than not related to in-service noise exposure, but did not address whether it could be secondary to tinnitus.
- Claimed conditions
- Liver Condition and Residuals from Liver Transplant, Bilateral Hearing Loss
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- October 6, 2021
- Citation
- 21062062
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 705 · Granted: 38% (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 21062062.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. The issue remains under direct service connection theory.
- Denied
The Veteran's hearing loss was rated at 30 percent, the highest non-compensable rating available. The Board found that his hearing loss did not warrant a higher rating based on VA examinations and medical records.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current hearing loss and his active service. The Board noted that while he had complaints of earaches in service, these did not indicate a current disability.
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