The Board has denied service connection for right ear hearing loss, allergic rhinitis and sinusitis, and tinnitus. The Veteran's asthma, chronic bronchitis, and/or COPD are remanded to determine if they are related to asbestos exposure during active service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not address whether the diagnosed conditions (asthma, chronic bronchitis, and/or COPD) were related to service due to probable asbestos exposure in the Veteran's military occupational specialty as an aircraft mechanic.
- Claimed conditions
- right ear hearing loss, allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, chronic bronchitis, asthma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 20, 2019
- Citation
- 19148628
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,341 · Granted: 33% (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 19148628.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an initial compensable disability rating for onychomycosis was denied as the condition did not require treatment and covered less than 5% of his body. The Board also remanded issues regarding service connection for left ear hearing loss and entitlement to a compensable disability rating for right ear hearing loss.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection of right ear hearing loss, and the case is dismissed.
- Denied
The Veteran's respiratory disability, including asthma and COPD, is denied as service connection is not warranted due to the condition being solely attributed to smoking.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the cases of sleep apnea and asthma due to a failure to provide proper notice for a hearing.
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