The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss has been denied as his current auditory thresholds do not constitute a disability. The Board finds that the criteria for service connection have not been met.,The Veteran's claims for service connection for a pulmonary disability, eczema, athlete’s foot, and ingrown toenails of the great toes, and scars from moles removal are remanded as there is insufficient evidence to make a determination on these issues.
The deciding factor: The Veteran does not have current hearing loss that constitutes a disability for VA purposes.,There is insufficient medical evidence to determine if the Veteran's respiratory symptoms are related to service or an undiagnosed illness. The Veteran's skin conditions and scars also lack sufficient supporting documentation.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Pulmonary Disability (Respiratory Symptoms), Eczema, Athlete's Foot, Bilateral Ingrown Toenails of the Great Toes, Scars (from moles removal), Headaches
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 24, 2019
- Citation
- 19105528
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,669 · Granted: 23% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19105528.
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 Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. The issue remains under direct service connection theory.
- Denied
The Veteran's hearing loss was rated at 30 percent, the highest non-compensable rating available. The Board found that his hearing loss did not warrant a higher rating based on VA examinations and medical records.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current hearing loss and his active service. The Board noted that while he had complaints of earaches in service, these did not indicate a current disability.
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