The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied as there is no evidence of current disability.,Service connection is granted for residuals of a left radial styloid fracture due to in-service injury.,An acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, generalized anxiety disorder, and other specified depressive disorder, is being remanded for further development.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for a sleep disorder is remanded as the nature and etiology need clarification.,Fatigue is also being remanded due to lack of evidence regarding its cause.,Headaches are being remanded for clarification on their nature and potential relationship with psychiatric disorders.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the evidence does not support a finding that the Veteran has current bilateral hearing loss disability related to service, as there is no evidence of such in-service or post-service.,The private medical opinion supports the presence of residual disability due to left wrist fracture with painful motion and functional loss.,An additional VA examination is required to determine if the Veteran meets criteria for a diagnosis of PTSD, generalized anxiety disorder, and other specified depressive disorder.,Further development is needed to verify stressors and diagnose any standalone sleep disorder or determine its relationship to known clinical diagnoses.,Fatigue may be related to psychiatric disorders as indicated by Dr. A., but further clarification is required.,An additional VA examination is necessary to clarify the nature of the Veteran's headaches, including whether they are a separate diagnosis or symptoms of an acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder (to include PTSD, generalized anxiety disorder, and other specified depressive disorder), Bilateral hearing loss, Fatigue (due to service in the Persian Gulf), Headaches (due to service in the Persian Gulf), Residuals of a left radial styloid fracture, Sleep disorder (due to service in the Persian Gulf)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 29, 2019
- Citation
- 19167390
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 140 · Granted: 18% (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 19167390.
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 Veteran's claim for a low back disorder was reopened, and his claims for increased ratings of bilateral knee instability were granted. His hearing loss claim was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeals of the initial ratings for his service-connected chronic cough and bilateral hearing loss are remanded due to procedural errors in the evidentiary record.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral pes planus with hammer toes, hallux valgus and degenerative arthritis, sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and bilateral kidney cysts, rendered him unable to secure or follow gainful employment. The Board granted the TDIU based on these conditions.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities (bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus) do not prevent him from securing and maintaining substantially gainful employment.
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