The Board has decided that there may be outstanding treatment records and an additional VA audiological examination is needed to determine the nature, extent, and etiology of any current bilateral hearing loss.
The deciding factor: There are discrepancies in the dates provided by the Veteran for a mandatory hearing test conducted at a telephone company (Pacific Telephone) in 1967 or 1968. The VA examiner noted that the February 2007 VA audiological test results were invalid due to poor agreement between pure tone average and speech reception threshold data.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 10, 2010
- Citation
- 1009042
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 1009042.
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 withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including bilateral hearing loss and various musculoskeletal issues, as well as an initial rating in excess of 0 percent for rhinitis. However, the Board granted a 70 percent rating for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability, as the evidence did not support higher ratings or service connection.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding it at least as likely as not related to the Veteran's in-service noise exposure.
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