The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss disability is related to his military service. The claim will be reviewed again with a different examiner.
The deciding factor: The previous opinions were based on the absence of documented hearing loss during service and did not consider the possibility that the Veteran may have developed hearing loss after service due to noise exposure in service.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss Disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19184165
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 service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability, psychiatric disorder, lumbar spine disability, hypertension, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to the Veteran's military service.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, finding no evidence of a nexus between his current disabilities and his military service.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder is granted an initial rating of 50 percent, and some claims for service connection are denied while others are remanded.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the claims for service connection and higher initial disability ratings due to concurrent elections under the Appeals Modernization Act, and denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss as there was no evidence of a current disability or nexus to service.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.