The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including a VA examination to determine if his left ear condition, including Eustachian tube dysfunction of the left ear, was aggravated by his active service.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that another VA examination is necessary to obtain opinions as to whether the Veteran has a current left ear condition, to include Eustachian tube dysfunction of the left ear, which preexisted his active service and which was aggravated (permanently worsened beyond the normal progress of the disorder) by his active service.
- Claimed conditions
- left ear condition, Eustachian tube dysfunction of the left ear
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 14, 2010
- Citation
- 1018126
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 1018126.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection are remanded due to the need for additional medical examinations and opinions. The issues include left ear hearing loss, cervical strain, fatigue and full body muscle pain (claimed as chronic fatigue syndrome), tinea pedis, onychomycosis and tinea corporis (claimed as full body rash and bilateral foot fungus), and bilateral vision loss.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for all claimed conditions as there was no evidence of a current disability.
- Granted
The Veteran's right ear condition with dizziness is granted service connection. The claims for left ear, heart, chest pain, prostate, stomach, neck, back, hip, ankle, and foot conditions are denied.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for a left ear condition and granted a 20% rating for low back disability from September 1, 2010 to June 21, 2023. The ratings for radiculopathy of the lower extremities and sphincter impairment were also denied.
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