The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining a May 2004 surgical report related to the Veteran's cholesteatoma surgery at a VA facility. The claim will be reviewed again after this information is obtained.
The deciding factor: Additional medical records are needed to support the decision on service connection for cholesteatoma of the left ear, including the May 2004 surgical report discussed by the VA examiner.
- Claimed conditions
- cholesteatoma of the left ear
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 20, 2012
- Citation
- 1202286
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 1202286.
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 tinnitus was granted service connection. The Board found the evidence insufficient to establish service connection for cholesteatoma of the left ear and remanded the case.
- Granted
The Veteran's current diagnoses of vertigo and paralysis of the seventh cranial nerve are etiologically related to his active service, specifically to a left ear cholesteatoma that developed during his service. The preponderance of evidence supports this finding.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's cholesteatoma of the left ear was not incurred in or aggravated by active service and is not proximately due to, or aggravated by, a service-connected disability.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's right ear hearing loss was aggravated by his military service, warranting service connection.
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