The Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA) denied an increased evaluation for service-connected hearing loss disability, but the case was remanded for further development and examination.
The deciding factor: The BVA requested additional information from the veteran regarding whether he wished to seek separate awards of service connection for slurred speech or imbalance. The BVA also instructed that the veteran should be afforded another audiologic examination to determine the severity of his hearing loss disability, as well as a neurological examination to investigate his complaints of slurred speech and imbalance.
- Claimed conditions
- Hearing loss disability, Slurred speech, Imbalance
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 7, 2005
- Citation
- 0503020
Veterans Law Judge
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0503020.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the veteran's claims for service connection due to outstanding records and the need for VA examinations.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for various disabilities, including an acquired psychiatric disability, headache, chronic respiratory disability, fungal infection of the feet, foot disabilities, muscle pain, tendonitis, bowel disability, and hearing loss.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Board dismissed the issues of entitlement to increased ratings for heart, left knee scar, hearing loss, right finger, granuloma, and lipoma disabilities due to the Veteran's withdrawal.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a hearing loss disability due to insufficient evidence of a VA compensable hearing loss condition during the applicable claim period.
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.