The Veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for inflammatory hydrocele was denied.,An effective date of May 1, 2018, for service connection of inflammatory hydrocele is granted.,Service connection for tinnitus and hearing loss remains denied due to lack of new and relevant evidence.,The Veteran's claim for erectile dysfunction secondary to left varicocele is remanded for further evaluation.
The deciding factor: The medical opinion provided did not consider the full medical history or lay statements regarding the Veteran's symptoms, leading to an inadequate assessment of his condition.,The earlier-effective-date issue was kept in continuous pursuit by the Veteran's timely request for higher-level review following a previous rating decision.,No new and relevant evidence has been received to reopen the claims for tinnitus and hearing loss.,A new examination is needed to determine if the Veteran's erectile dysfunction is due to or aggravated by his service-connected inflammatory varicocele.
- Claimed conditions
- inflammatory hydrocele, tinnitus, hearing loss, erectile dysfunction
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 2, 2026
- Citation
- A26009123
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 A26009123.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for diabetes mellitus type II with erectile dysfunction was denied as the evidence did not show that he had been diagnosed and manifested to at least a 10 percent disability rating on or prior to May 8, 2001.
- 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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