The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to inadequate and invalid examination results, potential noise exposure based on his MOS, and lack of private treatment records.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations were not valid for rating purposes due to symptom magnification, and there are no alternate methods provided by the examiner to determine organic hearing loss or tinnitus. The Veteran's sleep disorder claim is remanded as he has not submitted private medical records.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Tinnitus, Sleep Disorder (claimed as Sleep Apnea), Acquired Psychiatric Disorder (claimed as PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19162172
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 19162172.
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 granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD, entitlement to TDIU, and SMC based on housebound status.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 17, 2019, for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD but denied earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
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