The Veteran's claims of service connection for various knee and back disabilities, as well as bilateral tinnitus, are being remanded due to the need for additional development including obtaining medical opinions regarding the etiology of these conditions.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that further examination is necessary to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's current disabilities, particularly in relation to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis of the lower extremities, Right knee disability, Left knee disability, Low back disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 27, 2018
- Citation
- 18160774
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 18160774.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for chronic headaches, CFS, dermatosis, bilateral RLS, a lumbar spine disability, and sleep apnea but denied a compensable evaluation for allergic rhinitis.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for Meniere's disease, to include benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), secondary to tinnitus and dismissed the claims for a left knee disability, right knee disability, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, a low back disability, residuals of a right foot injury, sinusitis, shortness of breath, allergic rhinitis, and sleep apnea as there was no evidence to support a link between these conditions and the Veteran's military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for a low back disability and arthritis, to include bilateral hips and knees, due to an inadequate VA examination.
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