The Veteran's claim for service connection for gall bladder removal scars has been dismissed.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for a right knee condition has been dismissed.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for tinnitus has been granted.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for left ear hearing loss is remanded.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for right ear hearing loss is remanded.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for a low back disability (claimed as degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine) is remanded.
The deciding factor: In October 2019, prior to the promulgation of a decision in the appeal, the Veteran notified VA that he withdrew his claims for service connection for gall bladder removal scars and right knee condition.,The Board found that the evidence was in relative equipoise regarding the etiology of the Veteran's tinnitus, favoring the Veteran's reports of an in-service onset and continuous symptoms to present. As a result, service connection for tinnitus has been granted.,Remand is required due to lack of VA audiological examination records and insufficient medical evidence on record to determine if the Veteran has hearing loss disabilities for VA purposes or their etiology.,The Board found that remand was necessary to obtain additional information regarding the nature and etiology of the Veteran's low back disability, including its relationship to periods of active duty service and INACDUTRA.
- Claimed conditions
- gall bladder removal scars, right knee condition, tinnitus, left ear hearing loss, right ear hearing loss, low back disability (claimed as degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 6, 2020
- Citation
- 20000755
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,454 · Granted: 23% (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 20000755.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
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 remanded the claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service connected. The issues of foot disability and cardiovascular disorder are remanded for additional development.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, finding that it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran experienced tinnitus during his active duty service.
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