The Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are remanded due to inadequate medical nexus opinions.,The Veteran's claim for an acquired psychiatric disability is remanded as he has not yet received a VA examination for this condition.,The Veteran's claim for ischemic heart disease, presumed due to herbicide agent exposure in Vietnam, is remanded.,The Veteran's claim for ischemic heart disease is remanded and will be evaluated based on alternative theories of entitlement.
The deciding factor: The VA opinions did not provide sufficient causal linkage between the Veteran’s conditions and his service.,The Veteran has not received a VA examination for an acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD and depressive disorders.,There is potential for presumptive service connection due to herbicide agent exposure in Vietnam.,Alternative theories of entitlement will be considered.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Tinnitus, Acquired Psychiatric Disability (including PTSD and depressive disorders), Ischemic Heart Disease
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20006590
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 Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD, entitlement to TDIU, and SMC based on housebound status.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 17, 2019, for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD but denied earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
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