The Board has decided that the Veteran's claims for secondary service connection for loss of sense of smell and taste to bilateral hearing loss need further examination and opinion.
The deciding factor: The previous VA examiner did not provide an adequate opinion regarding whether the hearing loss would aggravate the claimed disabilities, and a new examination is needed to determine if there are separate disabilities distinct from symptoms related to other disability.
- Claimed conditions
- loss of sense of smell, loss of sense of taste
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 13, 2018
- Citation
- 18134803
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 18134803.
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.
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The Veteran's appeal for earlier effective dates and increased ratings has been withdrawn by the Veteran's attorney, resulting in the dismissal of the appeal.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection for loss of sense of taste, loss of sense of smell, and pelvic condition are denied. The claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder beyond unspecified trauma and stressor related disorder is also denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's effective date for adding his mother as a dependent parent to his VA disability compensation award is granted, with the effective date being November 10, 2022.
- Granted
The Veteran's initial rating for loss of sense of smell associated with Parkinson's disease is denied. A 30 percent rating, but no higher, is granted for balance impairment associated with Parkinson's disease. The reductions in ratings for left and right upper extremity impairments are found to be improper and the previous ratings are restored.
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