Citation Nr: 21072560 Decision Date: 12/03/21 Archive Date: 12/03/21 DOCKET NO. 19-25 950 DATE: December 3, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for hypothyroidism is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran's hypothyroidism is presumed to be caused by in-service exposure to herbicide agents while serving in Vietnam. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for hypothyroidism are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1116, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active service in the United States Army from October 1968 to July 1970, to include service in Vietnam. This matter is on appeal from an October 2018 rating decision. In October 2021, the Veteran testified at a Board hearing before the undersigned. A transcript of the proceeding as associated with the record. Entitlement to service connection for hypothyroidism. The Veteran asserts that he is entitled to service connection for hypothyroidism as a result of exposure to herbicide agents while serving in Vietnam. Service connection requires evidence of: (1) a current disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a nexus between the claimed in-service disease or injury and the present disability. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Veterans who served in Vietnam during the period from January 9, 1962, to May 7, 1975, are presumed to have been exposed to herbicide agents. Certain diseases, which are enumerated in 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e), are presumptively related to exposure to herbicide agents. These diseases will be presumed to have incurred in service even though there is no record of such disease during service, provided further that the rebuttable presumption provisions of 38 U.S.C. § 1113 and 38 C.F.R. § 3.307 (d) are also satisfied. These diseases must manifest to a degree of 10 percent or more at any time after service for the presumption to apply. 38U.S.C. §1116(a); 38C.F.R. §§3.307(a)(6), 3.309(e). The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 added three disorders to the list of diseases presumptively associated with exposure to herbicide agents. Specifically, it amended 38 U.S.C. § 1116 (a)(2) to include Parkinsonism, bladder cancer, and hypothyroidism. See National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, Pub. L. 116-283 (enacted January 1, 2021). The Veteran's VA treatment records indicate that he has been diagnosed with hypothyroidism. The Veteran served in Vietnam from December 1969 to July 1970. Therefore, he is presumed to have been exposed to herbicide agents. 38 U.S.C. § 1116; 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(6)(iii). Furthermore, as noted above, hypothyroidism is presumptively associated with exposure to herbicide agents under 38 U.S.C. § 1116(a). See National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, Pub. L. 116-283 (enacted January 1, 2021). With respect to the requirement that the disabilities manifests to a degree of 10 percent disabling or more as set forth under 38C.F.R. §3.307(a)(6)(ii), the Board finds that the evidence is at least in equipoise on this point. In this regard, the Veteran's private physician wrote that he underwent radioactive iodinic 121 treatment and currently takes daily synthroid medication. His VA treatment records indicate he experiences numbness of the toes and fingers. The Veteran testified that he experienced intolerance to heat, fatigue, nervousness, and irritability. See 38C.F.R. §4.119, Diagnostic Code7903. Accordingly, the Board finds that service connection for hypothyroidism is warranted on a presumptive basis as a result of the Veteran's exposure to herbicide agents while serving in Vietnam. DAVID L. WIGHT Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board R.R. Watkins, Counsel The Board's decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.