The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including hearing loss and TBI. The case is remanded to obtain additional examination opinions regarding whether these conditions are secondary to his service-connected PTSD.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not support a finding of current hearing loss disability or TBI that meets VA criteria for service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss disability, traumatic brain injury (TBI), cervical spine fracture and residuals thereof, muscle atrophy and weakness, disability of the eyes, headaches
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 21, 2019
- Citation
- 19187878
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 left knee strain, right knee strain, right wrist strain, and TBI. The Veteran's PTSD rating was remanded for further development.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for headaches and increased ratings for left shoulder rotator cuff tear, right shoulder rotator cuff tear, hypertension, and left and right leg restless leg syndrome. The Board denied a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss and an initial rating in excess of 70 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for an increased initial disability evaluation of headaches due to an inadequate VA examination.
- Dismissed
The veteran's appeal requests for service connection and increased ratings were denied due to untimeliness, as the appeals were not filed within one year of the respective rating decisions.
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