The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim for service connection of a right ear hearing loss disability due to conflicting medical evidence and unclear findings from previous examinations. The Veteran needs further examination to clarify his current condition and its relation to military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner could not provide an opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran’s right ear 92 percent speech recognition score without resorting to speculation due to conflicting medical evidence and unclear findings from previous examinations.
- Claimed conditions
- Right ear hearing loss disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 30, 2019
- Citation
- 19182433
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for right ear hearing loss disability due to unreliable and inconsistent responses during audiometric testing.
- Partly granted
The Board denied the claims for an initial compensable rating for left ear sensorineural hearing loss, service connection for a right ear hearing loss disability, and a left eye disorder. However, it granted service connection for a back disability and radiculopathy of both lower extremities as secondary to the back disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases for further development and to obtain a new opinion regarding the service connection of various hearing loss disabilities, including residuals from an in-service injury. The Appellant's National Guard service is also being reviewed.
- Granted
The Veteran's right ear hearing loss disability is at least as likely as not related to in-service noise exposure, and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.
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