The Veteran's claims for service connection on remanded issues are currently pending and will be reconsidered by the RO. The remaining denied conditions include acquired absence of teeth, fatty liver, left great toe bunion with osteoarthritis and gout, right great toe bunion with osteoarthritis and gout, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), pain in all joints and muscles, bilateral hearing loss, right Achilles tendonitis with calcaneal spurs, bilateral Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS), hernias, left knee osteoarthritis, and degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners have not provided a nexus opinion linking these conditions to service or any other relevant exposure. The Veteran's claims are pending for further review by the RO.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired absence of teeth, Bilateral Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS), Bilateral Hearing Loss, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), Degenerative Joint Disease of the Lumbar Spine, Fatty Liver, Hernias, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Left Great Toe Bunion with Osteoarthritis and Gout, Left Knee Osteoarthritis, Pain in all joints and muscles, Right Achilles Tendonitis with Calcaneal Spurs, Right Great Toe Bunion with Osteoarthritis and Gout
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 1, 2019
- Citation
- 19107521
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,828 · Granted: 32% (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 19107521.
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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