The Board has remanded the case for further development regarding the Veteran's respiratory disability, to include obstructive sleep apnea. The other issues of service connection have been denied as there is no evidence linking current hearing loss or tinnitus to service.
The deciding factor: There is no medical evidence showing a nexus between any current hearing loss or tinnitus and service.
- Claimed conditions
- Right ear hearing loss disability, Left ear hearing loss disability, Right ear tinnitus, Left ear tinnitus, Respiratory disability, to include obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 14, 2019
- Citation
- 19146576
Veterans Law Judge
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 19146576.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a right ear hearing loss disability but denied service connection for a left ear hearing loss disability.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's right ear hearing loss disability began during service and is therefore granted as service connection.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's left ear hearing loss disability, finding that it is due to in-service hazardous noise exposure.
- Granted
The Veteran's left ear hearing loss disability is related to hazardous noise exposure in service, while his right ear hearing loss disability was not aggravated during service.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.