The veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for compliance with the Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000 and proper notification regarding reductions in disability ratings. The issues on appeal include entitlement to a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, as well as reduction from 10 percent to noncompensable.
The deciding factor: The case requires further action due to procedural deficiencies related to the Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000 and proper notification regarding reductions in disability ratings.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 30, 2004
- Citation
- 0411322
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 0411322.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for depressive disorder as secondary to hypertension and tinnitus, but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and an increased rating for hypertension.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, but remanded the claim for degenerative disc disease with degenerative arthritis.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an increased rating for PTSD with alcohol use disorder and discectomy with lumbar discogenic pain but granted a 20% initial rating for left lower extremity radiculopathy from April 18, 2023 through January 16, 2024. The service connection was denied for bilateral hearing loss but granted for left knee Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD).
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, as there was no evidence of a current disability in the right ear and insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between the left ear hearing loss and service.
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