The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability has been rated as noncompensable, and the claim for a higher rating is denied.,The Veteran's hypertension associated with herbicide exposure has not met the criteria for a compensable rating. The claim for an initial compensable rating is denied.,The VA examiner found it less likely than not that the Veteran's bilateral lower extremity neuropathy is related to his toxic exposures, including herbicide agent exposure and MOS-related exposure. The claim for service connection is remanded.
The deciding factor: The audiometric test results do not meet the criteria for a higher rating under VA's tables for rating hearing loss disabilities.,The Veteran's blood pressure readings did not consistently meet the criteria for a 10 percent rating due to the use of medication and other possible etiologies.,The VA examiner found multiple potential causes for the Veteran's diagnoses, including toxic exposures.
- Claimed conditions
- Hearing loss, Hypertension, Bilateral lower extremity neuropathy (claimed as instability and foot drop)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 16, 2024
- Citation
- A24038278
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 A24038278.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and active duty service or herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for hypertension and has remanded the issue of an increased rating for skin condition.
- Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's 10% rating for hypertension effective December 1, 2025 and denied a rating in excess of 10%. The reduction from 10% to noncompensable was not proper.
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