The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus claims are denied as there is no evidence of a current disability. The claim for service connection for depressive disorder is granted.,Service connection is granted for the Veteran’s lumbar spine disability, right lower extremity radiculopathy (secondary to lumbar spine disability), asthma, congestive heart failure, and hypertension.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of evidence does not support a current hearing loss or tinnitus disability for VA purposes.,There is an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding the relationship between service and tinnitus. The Veteran's testimony and VA examination opinions are considered in determining whether there is continuity of symptomatology.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Tinnitus, Depressive Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 2, 2019
- Citation
- 19124180
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 Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD, entitlement to TDIU, and SMC based on housebound status.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 17, 2019, for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD but denied earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
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