The Veteran's tinnitus was granted service connection. The Board found the evidence supported his claim of in-service noise exposure and persistent symptoms since service.,A VA hearing loss examination is needed to determine if the Veteran has current hearing loss, which may be related to service. He testified that he experienced hearing loss during service and since then.,The Veteran's headaches were remanded for a VA examination to determine their etiology. The Veteran testified that his symptoms began in service and have persisted.,A VA examination is needed to assess the nature and cause of any right shoulder disability, including pain. The Veteran testified about an injury during boot camp which he avoided seeking treatment for fear of retribution.,The Veteran's right knee disability was remanded for a VA examination to determine its etiology. He testified that his duties as an infantryman put stress on his knees and led to current pain.,A new VA examination is needed to assess the severity of the Veteran’s lumbar spine disability, including any flare-ups requiring bedrest.
The deciding factor:
- Claimed conditions
- tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss, headaches, right shoulder disability, right knee disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 9, 2019
- Citation
- 19192176
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,451 · Granted: 22% (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 19192176.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's right shoulder disability and migraines/chronic headaches are remanded for additional development due to insufficient opinions on the etiology of her conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess his bilateral knee and hip disabilities.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
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