The Veteran's appeal is dismissed for his claim of an increased evaluation for bilateral tinnitus. His claim to reopen a service connection for bilateral hearing loss has been granted, but the Board must remand all other issues due to new evidence received since the last final denial in 2004.
The deciding factor: New and material evidence was submitted that relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the Veteran's claim of service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The remaining claims are remanded as they involve new evidence not previously considered.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral tinnitus, right elbow disability, bilateral hearing loss, left knee disability, renal stone, migraine headaches
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 28, 2019
- Citation
- 19123398
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,240 · Granted: 28% (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 19123398.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess his bilateral knee and hip disabilities.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
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