The Veteran seeks service connection for a balance disorder. The case is being remanded to obtain additional medical records and schedule the Veteran for an examination to determine if his current balance disorder is related to his active service or caused by his service-connected hearing loss and tinnitus.
The deciding factor: The examiner will need to assess whether the Veteran's current balance disorder is related to his active service, including his reported duties as a combat engineer and vehicle driver, and whether it is proximately due to, or caused by, his service-connected bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Claimed conditions
- balance disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 2, 2012
- Citation
- 1226684
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 1226684.
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 Board has granted secondary service connection for balance disorder and remanded the claims for tinnitus and TBI rating. The Veteran's balance impairment is related to his TBI, cluster headaches, back disability, and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Denied
The Board has denied the readjudication of claims for service connection for memory loss, damage to the inner ear, a balance disorder, and hearing loss disability as no new and relevant evidence was received.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including a lumbar spine disorder and various peripheral neuropathies, as the probative evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to the Veteran's active military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected hearing loss and balance disorder have rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment, warranting a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU).
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