The Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss and PTSD have been denied. The Board has found that the Veteran does not meet the criteria for a current diagnosis of these conditions.,The Veteran's Chiari I malformation and syringomyelia, as well as his numbness and tingling in the extremities and low back disability, are being remanded for further examination and analysis.
The deciding factor: The objective audiometric evidence does not show that the Veteran has a current hearing loss disability for VA purposes. The Veteran's PTSD diagnosis was also found to be lacking.,The nature of the Veteran’s disabilities and their etiology are unclear, as they may involve congenital defects or diseases rather than service-connected conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral hearing loss, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Chiari I malformation and syringomyelia, Numbness and tingling of the left upper extremity, Numbness and tingling of the left lower extremity, Numbness and tingling of the right lower extremity, Low back disability
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 4, 2019
- Citation
- 19124931
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 the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, as there was no evidence of a current disability in the right ear and insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between the left ear hearing loss and service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for a medical clarification regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected epilepsy has aggravated his bilateral hearing loss.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss to obtain an addendum opinion addressing the Veteran's lay statements regarding in-service acoustic trauma and a rocket blast injury.
- 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.
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