The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased rating are being remanded due to duty-to-assist errors. The hearing loss claim will be addressed with a new VA examination, the PTSD claim will require a VA psychiatric examination, and the gastritis claim requires an updated VA examination focusing on all underlying conditions.
The deciding factor: The claims involve duty-to-assist errors that need correction through additional medical examinations and evidence collection.
- Claimed conditions
- sensorineural hearing loss, an acquired psychiatric disorder to include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), chronic gastritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 8, 2019
- Citation
- A19001821
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 an etiological opinion regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected sensorineural hearing loss was a contributory cause of death.
- Denied
The Board denied an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for chronic gastritis and a compensable rating for chronic gastritis.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for chronic gastritis, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between the condition and his period of active service.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for chronic gastritis was denied due to the untimely filing of the Board Appeal request.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.