The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to herbicide exposure, as well as the claim for tinnitus. The Veteran's service records confirm his service in Thailand from March 1968 to February 1970 and his alleged exposure to herbicides during that time. However, there is no direct evidence of such exposure. The Board has requested further inquiry through the JSRRC to verify this claim. For hypertension, VA treatment records do not confirm a diagnosis of hypertension. The Veteran's tinnitus claim requires an addendum opinion from a VA audiologist to determine if it is related to service.
The deciding factor: The claims are remanded due to insufficient evidence regarding herbicide exposure and the lack of confirmed diagnoses in the medical records for hypertension and tinnitus.
- Claimed conditions
- heart disability, hypertension, tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 12, 2018
- Citation
- 18134396
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 18134396.
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 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service connected. The issues of foot disability and cardiovascular disorder are remanded for additional development.
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