The veteran's claim for a total rating for compensation purposes based on individual unemployability under 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(a) was denied, but the case was referred to the Director of Compensation and Pension Service for extra-schedular consideration under 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(b).
The deciding factor: The veteran's service-connected disabilities suggest that he may be unable to obtain or retain gainful employment as a result of those disorders, warranting referral to the Director, Compensation and Pension Service for extra-schedular consideration.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral hearing loss, Weak right foot with degenerative changes and pes planus with heel spur syndrome, Weak left foot with degenerative changes and pes planus with heel spur syndrome, Bilateral tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 28, 2008
- Citation
- 0810387
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.
- 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for a medical clarification regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected epilepsy has aggravated his bilateral hearing loss.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss to obtain an addendum opinion addressing the Veteran's lay statements regarding in-service acoustic trauma and a rocket blast injury.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 17, 2019, for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD but denied earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
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