The Veteran's appeal is remanded for further development, including obtaining an addendum medical opinion regarding the etiology of his left ear hearing loss disability and whether it is related to service-connected right ear hearing loss.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the current opinion was inadequate due to insufficient reasoning on the question of aggravation by the service connected right ear hearing loss.
- Claimed conditions
- left ear hearing loss disability, right ear hearing loss disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 5, 2018
- Citation
- 18116327
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 18116327.
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 claims for service connection have been dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for left ear hearing loss disability is dismissed. The Board has remanded the claims for service connection of left and right knee disabilities due to a lack of medical nexus opinions regarding pre-service conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate medical opinions regarding service connection for a left ear hearing loss disability. The Veteran's pre-existing condition is presumed, and the VA examiner needs to provide an opinion on whether the increase in severity of his hearing loss during service was clearly and unmistakably due to natural progression.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD and hearing loss disability required hospitalization at a VA Medical Center for more than 21 days, leading to the grant of a temporary total evaluation. Service connection was also granted for left ear nerve damage.
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