The Board remands the claims for further development of the record, including a review of the Veteran's complete service personnel file and additional requests to JSRRC for deck logs.
The deciding factor: The evidence suggests that the Veteran may have set foot in Vietnam during his service on certain ships, which could support a claim for service connection based on herbicide exposure. Additionally, an examination is needed to determine the etiology of the Veteran's claimed hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, diabetic retinopathy, peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral extremities, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 24, 2009
- Citation
- 0906750
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,036 · Granted: 27% (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 0906750.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
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