diabetes Agent Orange Presumption

[Charleese]

Hi All,

I am trying to help a Vietnam veteran get service connected for the following listed issues listed below. He was service connected for diabetes mellitus type 2 at a rate of 20% under Agent Orange presumption.

Is the following listed under Agent Orange presumption because he was denied service connection for them:

1. Hearing Loss - decision say: The evidence shows that you currently have hearing loss for VA purposes, but service connection cannot be granted without a medical link between your hearing and military Although you currently have a hearing loss for VA purposes, there is no medical link between your hearing loss and service. In the absence of such a link, service connection may not be granted. In addition, there is no evidence that disabling sensorineural hearing loss manifested itself to a compensable degree within a year of service

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2. Tinnitus - decision say: Service treatment records do not show evidence of hearing loss during military service. The October 2, 2012 VA examiner diagnosed tinnitus and linked this condition to your hearing loss. However hearing loss has not been linked to your military service. There is no evidence showing that your tinnitus condition is a result of military noise exposure.Therefore, service connection for tinnitus is denied since this condition neither occurred in nor was caused by service. Service connection is not established on a secondary basis because your hearing loss has not been linked to your military service.

3. Hyperparathyroidism, (claimed as thyroid condition) - decision say: The examiner did not diagnose or find any evidence of a thyroid condition during your military separation examination dated August 10, 1966. Although private medical evidence from Yale New Haven Hospital shows that you are diagnosed with hyperparathyroidism, there is no evidence linking this condition to your military service Therefore, service connection cannot be established.

If these issues are presumption and b/c he was in Vietnam isn't that the link to military service? Is there a regulation for AO presumption, if so please cite?

Thanks in advance for your replys.

[Philip Rogers]

Charleese - none of those are presumptive due to AO. Sorry. Hearing loss is very hard to get. Tinnitus, can be easy to service connect (sc), depending on the veterans military occupational specialty (MOS). If he/she was routinely exposed to extremely loud noise, such a artillery, jet engines, engine room noise, bombing noise, etc., etc., it can be done. jmo

Here's a link to the VA's current presumptive list: http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/diseases.asp

pr