The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and earlier effective dates for his service-connected asbestosis, bilateral hearing loss, and the grant of service connection for bilateral hearing loss are being remanded due to inadequate examination and outstanding treatment records.
The deciding factor: The VA examination provided was deemed inadequate by the Veteran, who testified that he received a breathing treatment during the examination which affected test readings. Therefore, a new VA examination is needed to determine the nature and severity of his service-connected asbestosis.
- Claimed conditions
- asbestosis, bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- August 22, 2019
- Citation
- 19165473
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,446 · Granted: 21% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19165473.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
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.
- 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 bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss claim, specifically needing an addendum opinion from a VA examiner. The Veteran will be asked to provide any missing records and former employers' information.
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