The Veteran's initial claim for a higher rating of 30 percent for his right shoulder disability is granted. The Board also remanded the issue of service connection for right ear hearing loss due to inadequate examination in September 2013.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner’s opinion was based solely on the absence of hearing loss within the Veteran's service treatment records, which is insufficient to determine the etiology of his current condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Shoulder Degenerative Joint Disease, Right Ear Hearing Loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 27, 2018
- Citation
- 18152892
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 18152892.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for right ear hearing loss and a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence to support these claims based on in-service noise exposure or other theories.
- Denied
The Veteran's right ear hearing loss disability was not incurred in service and is less likely than not caused by noise exposure during his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection for HTN and right ear hearing loss were granted. A separate 10% rating was granted for painful limitation of flexion in the bilateral knees, while a denial was issued for an increased rating for central serous choretinopathy and for a rating in excess of 10% for bilateral lateral instability.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's lumbar spine disability, including degenerative arthritis and IVDS, is granted as service-connected.,Service connection for right ear hearing loss, left ear hearing loss, and right knee instability are denied.
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