The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and sleep apnea due to inadequate opinions in the May 2017 VA examination. The issues are being remanded for additional development including obtaining STRs, verifying duty status, securing treatment records, and scheduling a VA examination.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the May 2017 VA examiner's opinion was inadequate as it did not address the Veteran’s lay statements regarding exposure to noise during service or provide an opinion on whether his hearing loss is due to delayed-onset hearing loss. The issues are being remanded for additional development and a new examination.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, sleep apnea
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 11, 2018
- Citation
- 18141641
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 18141641.
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 remands the claim for a direct service connection opinion and an adequate secondary service connection aggravation opinion.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for asthma and remanded claims for insomnia and sleep apnea. Other conditions were denied.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including bilateral hearing loss and various musculoskeletal issues, as well as an initial rating in excess of 0 percent for rhinitis. However, the Board granted a 70 percent rating for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
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