The Veteran's right ear hearing loss claim is denied as she does not have a current disability.,The Veteran’s breast cancer with lumpectomy, including as due to exposure to hazardous materials, and her psychiatric disorder including PTSD (due to military sexual trauma and/or as secondary to breast cancer) claims are remanded for further development.,The Veteran's GERD claim is remanded in conjunction with the breast cancer claim.,The Veteran’s left knee, right knee, left shoulder, right shoulder, cervical spine, thoracolumbar spine, left upper extremity condition (secondary to cervical spine condition), and right upper extremity condition (secondary to cervical spine condition) claims are remanded for further development.,The Veteran's left lower extremity and right lower extremity conditions are also remanded in conjunction with the breast cancer claim.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of evidence shows that the Veteran does not have a current hearing loss disability in her right ear, as her pure tone thresholds do not meet the criteria for a disability under VA regulations.,VA is required to obtain an opinion regarding whether the Veteran's breast cancer with lumpectomy was caused by exposure to hazardous chemicals while stationed at Andersen AFB in Guam. The claim for PTSD and GERD are also remanded due to their connection to her breast cancer.,The Veteran’s GERD claim is deferred until her breast cancer claim is resolved, as it is inextricably intertwined with the breast cancer claim.,Further development is needed for all of the remaining claims due to their connection to the breast cancer claim and other related conditions.,All of the remaining claims are remanded due to their connection to the breast cancer claim.
- Claimed conditions
- right ear hearing loss, breast cancer with lumpectomy, psychiatric disorder including PTSD (due to military sexual trauma and/or as secondary to breast cancer), GERD, left knee condition, right knee condition, left shoulder condition, right shoulder condition, cervical spine condition, thoracolumbar spine condition, left upper extremity condition (secondary to cervical spine condition), right upper extremity condition (secondary to cervical spine condition), left lower extremity condition (secondary to thoracolumbar spine condition), right lower extremity condition (secondary to thoracolumbar spine condition)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 10, 2019
- Citation
- 19102619
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 19102619.
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for tinnitus, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor. The claims for a cervical spine condition and lumbar spine condition were remanded for further development.
- Dismissed
The veteran's appeal requests for service connection and increased ratings were denied due to untimeliness, as the appeals were not filed within one year of the respective rating decisions.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including a head injury, headache disorder, erectile dysfunction, left earache disorder, chronic fatigue, right shoulder disorder, irritable bowel syndrome, right foot disorder, GERD, and left shoulder disorder, as the evidence did not support current diagnoses of these conditions.
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