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
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 28, 2019
- Citation
- 19114411
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 961 · Granted: 20% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19114411.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
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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