The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings have been denied. The Board found no new and material evidence to reopen the claims of bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, and denied them. Service connection was also denied for a bilateral eye disability. Increased ratings were denied for allergic rhinitis, hypertension, osteoarthritis and traumatic arthritis of the right knee, hallux valgus of the right foot, and hallux valgus of the left foot.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that there was no new and material evidence to reopen the claims of bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus. Service connection for a bilateral eye disability was denied as the Veteran did not submit sufficient evidence to establish an in-service onset or chronicity of such disabilities. Increased ratings were also denied due to lack of new and substantial evidence showing improvement over time.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Tinnitus, Bilateral Eye Disability, Allergic Rhinitis, Hypertension, Osteoarthritis and Traumatic Arthritis of the Right Knee, Hallux Valgus of the Right Foot, Hallux Valgus of the Left Foot
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 18, 2024
- Citation
- 24002762
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 575 · Granted: 29% (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 24002762.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for hypertension, finding that it did not manifest during service and is not causally related to the Veteran's exposure to herbicides or service.
- 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.
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