The Veteran's claim for service connection for right ear hearing loss is denied.,The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for multiple noncompensable service connected disabilities prior to July 31, 2014 is remanded due to lack of legal entitlement.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for right shoulder osteoarthritis is remanded as the VA medical opinion did not consider lay statements and was based on absence of treatment in service records.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for a sleep disorder (presumably sleep apnea) is remanded due to lack of VA medical opinions regarding the nature and etiology of his claimed condition.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for left knee disability is remanded as no VA medical opinions have been obtained.
The deciding factor: There is no right ear hearing loss disability for VA purposes.,Once a compensable rating for any service-connected disability has been awarded, the applicability of 38 C.F.R. § 3.324 is rendered moot.,The VA medical opinion did not consider lay statements and was based on absence of treatment in service records.,No VA medical opinions have been obtained regarding the nature and etiology of the Veteran's claimed sleep disorder (presumably sleep apnea).,No VA medical opinions have been obtained regarding the nature and etiology of the Veteran's claimed left knee disability.
- Claimed conditions
- right ear hearing loss, right shoulder osteoarthritis, sleep disorder (presumably sleep apnea), left knee disability
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 13, 2020
- Citation
- 20002646
Veterans Law Judge
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 20002646.
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 Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess his bilateral knee and hip disabilities.
- Partly granted
The Board has not made a final determination on the claims of service connection for inguinal hernia, PTSD, joint pain, fibromyalgia, left knee disability, right knee disability, tinnitus, chronic fatigue syndrome, respiratory disability, sleep disorder, IBS, and headaches. The claims are remanded to obtain additional evidence and determine if these conditions are related to service.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an initial compensable disability rating for onychomycosis was denied as the condition did not require treatment and covered less than 5% of his body. The Board also remanded issues regarding service connection for left ear hearing loss and entitlement to a compensable disability rating for right ear hearing loss.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient rationale in the July 2012 VA examination for the Veteran's left knee disability, and a new addendum opinion is needed.
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