The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to obtain an adequate medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, as the current VA medical opinion relied on the absence of in-service evidence and did not provide sufficient reasoning for its conclusion.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner’s rationale was based solely on the absence of in-service complaints or findings, which is insufficient to determine the etiology of the Veteran's hearing loss.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral sensorineural hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 6, 2019
- Citation
- 19191860
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 19191860.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board dismissed the claim for service connection for headaches and remanded claims for service connection for various other conditions, including open angle glaucoma, sensorineural hearing loss, asthma, heart disease, bladder cancer, and squamous cell carcinoma.
- Partly granted
The Board dismissed the claim for service connection for bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and denied claims for right ankle calcaneal enthesopathy and left ankle calcaneal enthesopathy. The remaining claims were remanded for further development.
- Granted
The Board granted earlier effective dates for increased ratings and service connection, as well as awards of special monthly compensation and Dependents' Educational Assistance.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for left shoulder acromioclavicular joint osteoarthritis & separation condition, bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, and sleep apnea with asthma.
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.