The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development as the opinions provided in the February 2016 VA audiological evaluation are inadequate. Specifically, a new medical opinion is needed to reconcile discrepancies in the Veteran’s audiograms during service and his conceded exposure to hazardous noise during service on the nature and etiology of his current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that the opinions provided by the VA examiner in the February 2016 audiological evaluation are inadequate due to the failure to consider documented threshold shifts demonstrated in the Veteran's STRs, including the June 1973 audiogram recorded in chart form. Therefore, a new medical opinion is needed to reconcile these discrepancies.
- Claimed conditions
- left knee chondromalacia patella, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 23, 2019
- Citation
- 19131279
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,797 · Granted: 20% (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 19131279.
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.
- 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 service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
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