The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate medical examination, and further development is needed.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence of record is inadequate to decide the appeal as it does not confirm whether a tympanic membrane perforation or ruptured eardrum is present.
- Claimed conditions
- perforation of tympanic membrane
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 18, 2019
- Citation
- 19194960
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,902 · Granted: 11% (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 19194960.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss disability, and perforated tympanic membrane are related to service. However, due to incomplete or insufficient opinions in the November 2012 VA examination, the issues of bilateral hearing loss and perforated tympanic membrane require further review.
- Granted
The Board found that the December 1964 rating decision misapplied the law and granted service connection for chronic mastoiditis, chronic otitis media, and perforation of tympanic membrane of the right ear as incurred in active military service.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claim to reopen his service connection for otitis media, right ear, with perforation of tympanic membrane due to lack of new and material evidence.
- Denied
The Board found no evidence of current disabilities related to the veteran's service and denied all claims.
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