The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss was denied as his hearing impairment did not meet the criteria for any higher evaluation.,The effective date of service connection for Meniere’s Disease and vertigo secondary to his service-connected hearing loss and tinnitus was granted on December 17, 2015. The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date is denied as there is no evidence of a prior informal or formal claim before this date.,The Veteran's claim for an increased rating in excess of 20 percent for diabetes mellitus type II (DM II) with erectile dysfunction (ED) was remanded due to the need for additional examination.
The deciding factor: The Veteran’s hearing impairment did not meet the criteria for any higher evaluation under the applicable rating schedule.,There is no evidence of a prior informal or formal claim before December 17, 2015, for service connection for Meniere’s Disease and vertigo secondary to his service-connected hearing loss and tinnitus.,The Veteran's disability was last evaluated in June 2015, which is too remote to be considered a contemporaneous medical examination sufficient to ascertain the current level of disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Meniere’s Disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- May 3, 2019
- Citation
- 19134720
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,454 · Granted: 23% (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 19134720.
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
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. The issue remains under direct service connection theory.
- Denied
The Veteran's hearing loss was rated at 30 percent, the highest non-compensable rating available. The Board found that his hearing loss did not warrant a higher rating based on VA examinations and medical records.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current hearing loss and his active service. The Board noted that while he had complaints of earaches in service, these did not indicate a current disability.
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