The Veteran's appeal to reopen a claim of service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied. Service connection for TBI is denied. The Board has remanded the remaining issues due to insufficient medical opinions and missing records.
The deciding factor: The claims have been remanded because there are insufficient medical opinions regarding the current severity of the Veteran's disabilities, as well as missing treatment records that may be relevant to his case.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Left Hip Disability, Right Hip Disability, Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), Left Shoulder Disability, Right Shoulder Disability, Low Back Pain, Lumbar Spine with Degenerative Changes, Bilateral Pes Planus, Left Foot Hallux Valgus, Right Foot Bunionectomy with Hallux Valgus, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 25, 2018
- Citation
- 18121268
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 18121268.
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 bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. The issue remains under direct service connection theory.
- Denied
The Veteran's hearing loss was rated at 30 percent, the highest non-compensable rating available. The Board found that his hearing loss did not warrant a higher rating based on VA examinations and medical records.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current hearing loss and his active service. The Board noted that while he had complaints of earaches in service, these did not indicate a current disability.
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