The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for left ear hearing loss, right ear hearing loss, and tinnitus due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding the current severity of his hearing loss and service connection for these conditions. The Veteran is also asked to provide any relevant private records related to Eustachian tube surgery.
The deciding factor: The Board found that new VA examinations are needed to evaluate the current severity of the Veteran's left ear hearing loss, determine if right ear hearing loss is related to service, and clarify whether tinnitus is bilateral or only in the left ear. The need for additional medical opinions was based on the lack of clear evidence regarding auditory damage from noise exposure during service.
- Claimed conditions
- left ear hearing loss, right ear hearing loss, tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 6, 2020
- Citation
- 20000780
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 170 · Granted: 18% (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 20000780.
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 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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