The veteran's claims for service connection of various joint disabilities and varicocele are being remanded due to inadequate examination reports. The VA is instructed to obtain treatment records, schedule the veteran for a comprehensive VA examination, and provide an opinion regarding the relationship between current disabilities and active service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not address all relevant in-service complaints and diagnoses provided by the veteran, which could affect the determination of whether these conditions are related to his period of active service.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Right Shoulder Disability, Right Hip Disability, Left Hip Disability, Right Ankle Disability, Left Ankle Disability, Pelvis Disability, Varicocele
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 4, 2008
- Citation
- 0826105
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 0826105.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. The issue remains under direct service connection theory.
- Denied
The Veteran's hearing loss was rated at 30 percent, the highest non-compensable rating available. The Board found that his hearing loss did not warrant a higher rating based on VA examinations and medical records.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current hearing loss and his active service. The Board noted that while he had complaints of earaches in service, these did not indicate a current disability.
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