The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to obtain additional medical opinions regarding the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus. The current VA examination report is deemed inadequate as it does not account for the conversion of pre-induction audiometric findings from ASA units to ISO units, nor does it provide sufficient rationale for its conclusions.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not convert the Veteran's pre-induction audiometric findings from American Standards Association (ASA) units to International Standard Organization (ISO) units, which could result in an error in determining the extent of any hearing loss. The examiner also did not provide sufficient rationale for its conclusions regarding whether the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and/or tinnitus are related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 30, 2012
- Citation
- 1203154
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 1203154.
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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