The Board denied a compensable disability rating for hypertension (HTN) as the appellant failed to report for scheduled VA examinations.,Service connection for diabetes mellitus, Type 2 (DM II), was denied as there is no evidence of in-service disease or injury and no causal relationship between DM II and service-connected HTN.,The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss as the appellant did not meet the criteria for a current disability under VA regulations.
The deciding factor: The appellant failed to report for scheduled VA examinations, resulting in denial of his claim for a compensable disability rating for HTN.,There is no evidence linking DM II to service-connected HTN or to military service. The Board found that the appellant's current diagnosis of DM II was not caused by or aggravated by his service-connected HTN.,The appellant did not meet the criteria for a current hearing loss disability under VA regulations, as his auditory thresholds were within normal limits.
- Claimed conditions
- Hypertension (HTN), Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 (DM II), Bilateral Hearing Loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 9, 2024
- Citation
- 24001329
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 785 · Granted: 27% (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 24001329.
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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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