The Veteran's hepatitis C with liver fibrosis is rated at 60% since October 29, 2008. The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, status post left tympanoplasty/mastoidectomy, status post septoplasty, left adrenal adenoma, bilateral renal cysts, and ulcerated stomach.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's hepatitis C with liver fibrosis is characterized by daily fatigue, malaise, and nausea with incapacitating episodes having a total duration of at least six weeks during the past 12-month period. The Board has determined that a 60% rating is warranted under DC 7354.
- Claimed conditions
- Hepatitis C, Bilateral Hearing Loss, Status Post Left Tympanoplasty/Mastoidectomy, Status Post Septoplasty, Left Adrenal Adenoma, Bilateral Renal Cysts, Ulcerated Stomach
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 29, 2019
- Citation
- 19190255
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,242 · Granted: 24% (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 19190255.
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 Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. The issue remains under direct service connection theory.
- Denied
The Veteran's hearing loss was rated at 30 percent, the highest non-compensable rating available. The Board found that his hearing loss did not warrant a higher rating based on VA examinations and medical records.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current hearing loss and his active service. The Board noted that while he had complaints of earaches in service, these did not indicate a current disability.
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