The Veteran's tinnitus and left eye corneal scar are found to be related to service. The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and eye disorder claims require additional development as the records may not provide sufficient information for a determination.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner will need to determine if any of the Veteran’s current disabilities, including her hearing loss and eye disorders, are related to service exposure or events.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral tinnitus, left eye corneal scar, bilateral hearing loss, eye disorder (including: degenerative myopia, macular degeneration, posterior vitreous detachment with significant syneresis and vitreous opacities, chorioditis, bilateral cataracts, diffuse punctuate nuclear opacities, lattice degeneration of the left eye only, floaters and flashes that have affected her vision, minor retinal detachment, bilateral neovascularization of the cornea, posterior capsular opacity, 'PPA' 360 degrees with pigment clumping surrounding the optic nerve (left greater than the right), left chorioretinal atrophy, myopic astigmatism, presumed ocular histoplasmosis, keratitis, and posterior staphyloma)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 3, 2019
- Citation
- 19168004
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 19168004.
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.
- 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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