The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, a skin disability other than pseudofolliculitis barbae, and a compensable initial rating for pseudofolliculitis barbae. The Veteran's TMJ is currently rated as 30 percent disabling effective March 30, 2017.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran’s current TMJ disability warranted a 30 percent rating but not higher and remanded for further examination to determine if there was any increase in severity of his pseudofolliculitis barbae. The hearing loss claim is also remanded due to concerns about audiometric results being affected by TMJ symptoms.
- Claimed conditions
- Temporomandibular articulation (TMJ), Pseudofolliculitis barbae, Bilateral hearing loss, Skin disability, other than pseudofolliculitis barbae
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 7, 2020
- Citation
- 20000596
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 940 · Granted: 21% (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 20000596.
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 claim for a low back disorder was reopened, and his claims for increased ratings of bilateral knee instability were granted. His hearing loss claim was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeals of the initial ratings for his service-connected chronic cough and bilateral hearing loss are remanded due to procedural errors in the evidentiary record.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral pes planus with hammer toes, hallux valgus and degenerative arthritis, sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and bilateral kidney cysts, rendered him unable to secure or follow gainful employment. The Board granted the TDIU based on these conditions.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities (bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus) do not prevent him from securing and maintaining substantially gainful employment.
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