The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining complete VA treatment records and scheduling the Veteran for appropriate VA examinations to assess the current severity of his disabilities. The Veteran must also be scheduled for a new examination before service connection can be decided on the merits for bilateral hearing loss.
The deciding factor: The case is being remanded because there are outstanding VA treatment records that need to be obtained and the Veteran's claims require additional development, including examinations to assess current disability severity and determine whether service connection is warranted for bilateral hearing loss.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, bilateral ankle disability, bilateral pes planus, pseudofolliculitis barbae, burn scarring of the left forearm, wrist, and thumb, right shoulder, status post arthroscopy, hypertension, degenerative disc disease of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine, allergic rhinitis, tinnitus, GERD, umbilical scar, post hernia repair, right index finger residuals, including scarring, bilateral wrist tendonitis, erectile dysfunction
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 25, 2017
- Citation
- 1729058
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 1729058.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for diabetes mellitus type II with erectile dysfunction was denied as the evidence did not show that he had been diagnosed and manifested to at least a 10 percent disability rating on or prior to May 8, 2001.
- 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.
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