The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the new evidence received after prior final denials supports these claims.,Service connection is denied for a back disorder and secondary service connection for hypertension due to lack of in-service injury or disease.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's current diagnosed bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to noise exposure during service, with the private examiner opining that these conditions were likely related to acoustic trauma experienced during service.,There is no evidence of a respiratory injury or sleep apnea symptoms during service. The weight of the evidence does not support a finding that the Veteran's currently diagnosed sleep apnea is related to active service.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Tinnitus, Back Disorder, Hypertension (secondary to depression)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 13, 2019
- Citation
- A19000872
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 A19000872.
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD, entitlement to TDIU, and SMC based on housebound status.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 17, 2019, for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD but denied earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
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