The veteran's claim for service connection for hearing loss of the left ear is being remanded due to the need for a VA audiological examination and additional development.
The deciding factor: The decision requires further medical evaluation to determine if the veteran's hearing loss is related to his military service, specifically exposure to acoustic trauma during combat as a combat engineer.
- Claimed conditions
- hearing loss of the left ear
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 3, 2005
- Citation
- 0500050
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,514 · Granted: 19% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0500050.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the claim for eligibility to enroll in the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) is remanded due to insufficient evidence and lack of proper notice. The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not result in a need for personal care services, but this determination was made without adequate medical justification or explanation.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for hearing loss of the right ear and tinnitus, but denied it for the left ear.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to August 1, 2003, for service connection for vertigo based on clear and unmistakable error in a March 1995 rating decision. The Board found that service treatment records unavailable at the time of the 1995 decision were duplicative of records already considered and would not have manifestly changed the outcome.
- Partly granted
The veteran's service connection for hearing loss of the left ear and tinnitus was granted. The claim for an initial, compensable rating for right-ear hearing loss was remanded.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.