The Board has denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and pseudofolliculitis barbae. The Veteran's claim of entitlement to a compensable evaluation for pseudofolliculitis barbae is also denied. Service connection for a bilateral foot disorder remains in dispute as the case must be remanded for further development.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was no current disability for VA purposes regarding bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, and service connection could not be established on a presumptive basis for either condition. For pseudofolliculitis barbae, the Veteran did not meet the criteria for a compensable evaluation as his condition did not affect at least 5% of the entire body or exposed areas affected, nor did it require intermittent systemic therapy such as corticosteroids or other immunosuppressive drugs required for a total duration of less than six weeks during the past 12-month period. The case is remanded to obtain an addendum opinion regarding service connection for a bilateral foot disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Foot Disorder, Bilateral Hearing Loss, Pseudofolliculitis Barbae (PFB), Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 28, 2019
- Citation
- 19114411
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 961 · Granted: 20% (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 19114411.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.
- 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.
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