The Board has determined that there is no current disability of hearing loss in the left ear for VA purposes at any time since separation from service. The Veteran's right ear hearing loss meets the criteria set forth in 38 C.F.R. § 3.385, but further verification of his Reserve training periods and noise exposure during such training are needed to properly adjudicate this claim.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not show a current disability for VA purposes at any time since separation from service for the left ear hearing loss, and the right ear hearing loss meets the criteria set forth in 38 C.F.R. § 3.385 but further verification of Reserve training periods and noise exposure is needed.
- Claimed conditions
- Hearing loss in the left ear, Hearing loss in the right ear
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 1, 2019
- Citation
- 19124357
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,170 · Granted: 38% (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 19124357.
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
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hearing loss in the left ear as there is no evidence of a current disability meeting VA criteria.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's left ear hearing loss is rated as Level I, which corresponds to a noncompensable rating. The Board denied the claim for an initial compensable rating.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the Veteran does not have a current disability of hearing loss in the left ear for VA purposes, and thus denied service connection. For the right ear, the Board found that there is no evidence to support a finding that the Veteran's hearing loss was incurred during service.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, migraine headaches, tinnitus, hearing loss, and erectile dysfunction, precluded him from obtaining or maintaining a substantially gainful occupation prior to January 8, 2022. The Board has granted a TDIU effective from January 8, 2022 onward.
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