The Veteran's tinnitus is related to service exposure, and the Board grants service connection.,The Veteran's ischemic heart disease is presumed due to his Vietnam-era service, and the Board grants service connection.,There is insufficient evidence to determine if the Veteran has bilateral hearing loss or its etiology.,The claim for erectile dysfunction is remanded as it may be related to ischemic heart disease.,The Veteran's nervous tremors are remanded due to lack of clarity in the medical records and need for further examination.,The Veteran's neuropathy of the lower extremities is remanded for a determination on its etiology, including potential connection to service exposure.,The Veteran's memory loss is remanded as it needs clarification regarding its relationship to service.
The deciding factor: Service personnel records show noise exposure during service. The VA audiologist concluded that tinnitus was associated with such exposure.,The Veteran served in Vietnam and has ischemic heart disease, which is presumed due to herbicide agent exposure. Service connection for ischemic heart disease is granted based on the presumption.,There are insufficient medical records prior to February 2013 from Loma Linda VAMC to determine if the Veteran had hearing loss during service.,The claim for erectile dysfunction is remanded as it may be related to ischemic heart disease, which requires further examination and opinion.,The Veteran's nervous tremors are remanded due to lack of clarity in medical records regarding their etiology. Further examination is needed.,The Veteran's neuropathy of the lower extremities is remanded for a determination on its etiology, including potential connection to service exposure.,The Veteran's memory loss is remanded as it needs clarification regarding its relationship to service.
- Claimed conditions
- tinnitus, ischemic heart disease, bilateral hearing loss, erectile dysfunction, nervous tremors, neuropathy of the lower extremities, memory loss
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 14, 2019
- Citation
- 19137392
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,249 · Granted: 37% (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 19137392.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for diabetes mellitus type II with erectile dysfunction was denied as the evidence did not show that he had been diagnosed and manifested to at least a 10 percent disability rating on or prior to May 8, 2001.
- 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.
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