The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, neuropathy of the right and left lower extremities, and degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine with lumbar strain and spondylosis are remanded due to insufficient medical opinions and missing records.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations did not comply with the requirements in Correia v. McDonald and Sharp v. Shulkin, and there is a need for additional medical opinions regarding the Veteran's diagnoses and disability ratings.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, neuropathy of the right lower extremity, neuropathy of the left lower extremity, degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine with lumbar strain and spondylosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19178841
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 withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including bilateral hearing loss and various musculoskeletal issues, as well as an initial rating in excess of 0 percent for rhinitis. However, the Board granted a 70 percent rating for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Partly granted
The Veteran's tinnitus is granted, while fibromyalgia, internal or external hemorrhoids, bilateral hearing loss, and neuropathy are denied.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding it at least as likely as not related to the Veteran's in-service noise exposure.
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