The Veteran's tinnitus has been granted service connection, as the evidence is at least in equipoise that it originated during service.,Service connection for bilateral hearing loss has not been established, as auditory thresholds did not meet criteria for a disability under VA regulations.
The deciding factor: The Board found no evidence of current disabilities meeting VA's definition of hearing impairment and thus denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss.
- Claimed conditions
- tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss, lower back and cervical spine disabilities, sinusitis, bladder condition, erectile dysfunction
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19185201
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,890 · Granted: 32% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 19185201.
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's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for diabetes mellitus type II with erectile dysfunction was denied as the evidence did not show that he had been diagnosed and manifested to at least a 10 percent disability rating on or prior to May 8, 2001.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
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