The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss was denied in March 2012, and the Board finds no new and material evidence to reopen this claim. The Veteran is granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability (depressive disorder and anxiety).,Service connection has been established for lumbosacral spondylosis and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy with effective dates of April 25, 2014.,The Veteran's claim for headaches is remanded. The Board notes that the issue of entitlement to a TDIU is inextricably intertwined with the pending claims and must be addressed concurrently.,Initial ratings are being remanded for lumbosacral spondylosis, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and left lower extremity radiculopathy.
The deciding factor: The Veteran did not submit new and material evidence to reopen the claim of service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The Board finds that the Veteran has established a current diagnosis of an acquired psychiatric disability (depressive disorder and anxiety) related to his military service.,Service connection was granted for lumbosacral spondylosis and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy with effective dates of April 25, 2014. The Veteran's claim is remanded as the evidence does not show that he had a current disability prior to this date.,The Veteran has been diagnosed with headaches but there are no medical opinions linking these conditions to his military service or any other condition. The Board finds that the issue of entitlement to a TDIU is inextricably intertwined with the pending claims and must be addressed concurrently.,Initial ratings for lumbosacral spondylosis, right lower extremity radiculopathy, and left lower extremity radiculopathy are being remanded as there is insufficient evidence of functional impairment during flare-ups.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, depressive disorder, anxiety
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 20, 2018
- Citation
- 18159825
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 18159825.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss claim, specifically needing an addendum opinion from a VA examiner. The Veteran will be asked to provide any missing records and former employers' information.
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