The Veteran's claim of service connection for left and right ear hearing loss disabilities is being remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding the etiology of his hearing loss.
The deciding factor: The decision is based on the need for an additional opinion regarding the cause of the Veteran's hearing loss, which could impact both issues as they are inextricably intertwined.
- Claimed conditions
- left ear hearing loss disability, right ear hearing loss disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 23, 2019
- Citation
- 19180559
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent disability rating for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy from April 3, 2023 onward, but denied higher ratings prior to that date. Service connection was also granted for alcohol use disorder as secondary to PTSD with traumatic brain injury.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a left ear hearing loss disability, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor and finding that it is at least as likely as not related to in-service noise exposure.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for hypogonadism with fatigue, GERD, and a right ear hearing loss disability. The Veteran's left rib disability was denied, and the ratings for his left shoulder injury, left hip bursitis, impairment of the left thigh, left knee retropatellar pain syndrome limitation of extension, and left ankle sprain were either granted or denied with specific rating percentages.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for left ear hearing loss disability, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between the current condition and his in-service noise exposure.
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