The Board has remanded the claims of bilateral hearing loss, an acquired psychiatric disorder, diabetes mellitus, and a liver disorder due to insufficient evidence regarding their etiology. The Veteran needs to be provided with VA examinations for each condition.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there is not enough evidence to determine if any of the conditions are related to service or if they were caused by in-service noise exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, an acquired psychiatric disorder (claimed as depression and drug addiction and including adjustment disorder with mixed depression and anxious mood), diabetes mellitus, liver disorder (including cirrhosis and chronic hepatitis C)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19135523
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 19135523.
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 withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including bilateral hearing loss and various musculoskeletal issues, as well as an initial rating in excess of 0 percent for rhinitis. However, the Board granted a 70 percent rating for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability, as the evidence did not support higher ratings or service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for hypertension and diabetes mellitus to obtain further medical opinions regarding their potential relationship to toxic exposures during active service.
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