The Board has denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus. The claim for a low back disability is remanded.,The claim for an initial rating greater than 10 percent for tinnitus remains denied as the appellant is already receiving the maximum schedular rating.,The claim for a low back disability is remanded due to lack of evidence on record regarding its onset and etiology during service.,The claim for a right lazy eye is remanded due to lack of evidence on record regarding its onset and etiology during service.,The claims for migraines (including as aggravated by service-connected tinnitus) and psychiatric disability (including as aggravated by service-connected tinnitus) are both remanded due to the need for further medical examination and opinion.,The claim for an effective date earlier than May 29, 2013, for the award of service connection for tinnitus is remanded.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence of a hearing loss disability for VA purposes at any time during the pendency of the claim or recent to the filing of the claim.,The appellant's service-connected bilateral tinnitus has been assigned the maximum schedular rating available for the period on appeal, and no higher schedular evaluation is warranted.,There is some indication that the appellant may have a current right eye disability which is related to his active duty service. Further development is necessary prior to adjudicating this claim.,While a private examiner has found the appellant’s psychiatric disability is aggravated by his service connected tinnitus, the examination failed to provide a baseline severity of the appellant's psychiatric disability or an onset date for the disability. Further development is necessary prior to adjudicating this claim.,The Board finds that further development is necessary prior to adjudicating this claim due to lack of evidence on record regarding its onset and etiology during service.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Tinnitus, Low Back Disability, Right Lazy Eye, Migraines (including as aggravated by service-connected tinnitus), Psychiatric Disability (including as aggravated by service-connected tinnitus)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19104294
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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