The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current right ear hearing loss disability for VA purposes and finds that tinnitus is service connected. The case is being remanded to address whether the left ear hearing loss at entry into service was aggravated by service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner could not provide an opinion without resorting to speculation due to lack of complaints in service, but the Veteran's competent and credible lay statements support his contention that tinnitus manifested within one year of separation from active duty service.
- Claimed conditions
- {"conditionName":"Right Ear Hearing Loss Disability"}, {"conditionName":"Left Ear Hearing Loss Disability"}, {"conditionName":"Tinnitus"}
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 28, 2016
- Citation
- 1637971
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 1637971.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's hearing loss and tinnitus are related to noise exposure during service, and the Board finds that his PTSD is also related to in-service stressors. The right ankle disability has been granted a rating of 10 percent.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's schizophrenia and tinnitus are attributable to his active duty service, granting the claims for these conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for tinnitus and the issues of whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen previously denied claims of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss and bilateral leg numbness have been withdrawn.,PTSD is currently rated at 30 percent, which is the maximum rating available under Diagnostic Code 9411. The Veteran's PTSD results in occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas due to symptoms such as depressed mood, anxiety, panic attacks (weekly or less often), chronic sleep impairment, mild memory loss, flattened affect, circumstantial speech, difficulty understanding complex commands, impaired judgment, impaired abstract thinking, disturbances of motivation and mood, and difficulty establishing effective relationships.,The Veteran's service-connected residuals of gunshot wound to the right shoulder are currently rated at 30 percent under Diagnostic Code 5303.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claims of service connection for cervical degenerative disc disease, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus have been withdrawn. The claim of an increased disability rating for right anterior leg tibialis muscle hernia has also been withdrawn.
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