The Board has decided to remand the cases for further development and examination. The Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and back strain are being reviewed due to incomplete records and inadequate medical opinions.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinion is deemed insufficient as it did not consider the Veteran’s exposure to acoustic trauma during his National Guard service, which has been conceded. The Board also notes that a VA examination for the claims of hearing loss, tinnitus, and back strain is needed due to incomplete records and lack of opinions on the etiology of these conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, back strain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- November 14, 2019
- Citation
- 19185379
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,341 · Granted: 33% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19185379.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
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.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
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