The Veteran's hearing loss is currently rated as noncompensable prior to June 9, 2017 and at 20 percent from that date. The claim for increased rating for his bilateral hearing loss remains denied.,The Veteran's right shoulder disability has not been service connected. His petition to reopen the claim was previously denied due to lack of new and material evidence.,The Veteran's low back disability is currently rated as 20 percent disabling, but further development is needed to determine its severity.,The Veteran's TDIU claim remains pending as his low back disability prevents him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not meet the criteria for a compensable rating prior to June 9, 2017 and at least 20 percent thereafter.,There is no nexus between the Veteran's right shoulder disability and service. The submitted evidence was previously considered in previous decisions.,Further examination is needed to determine the extent of functional loss due to pain and other factors affecting range of motion.,The Veteran’s low back disability prevents him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Right Shoulder Disability, Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) and Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) of the Lumbosacral Spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 1, 2019
- Citation
- 19182814
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 Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 70% rating for PTSD from November 25, 2015 to August 12, 2024 and a 40% rating for the right shoulder disability. It also granted 10% ratings for both feet and 20% ratings for knee patellofemoral pain syndromes.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD, entitlement to TDIU, and SMC based on housebound status.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for asbestosis, bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), rhinitis, sinusitis, and asthma. The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was also denied a compensable rating.
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