The Board has determined that additional development is needed to obtain the Veteran's missing service medical records and conduct further examinations to address his claims for various joint, muscle, neurological, cardiovascular, hearing, and tinnitus conditions.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that the current evidence of record is insufficient to make a determination on the merits of the Veteran's claims due to the lack of complete STRs and other pertinent medical records. The Board also notes that the VA examiner did not adequately address the Veteran's lay statements regarding the onset and persistence of his symptoms.
- Claimed conditions
- unspecified joint pain, fibromyalgia (also claimed as muscle pain), right knee disability, left knee disability, disability manifested by difficulty walking and abnormal gait, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), neurological condition (to include as due to an undiagnosed illness), headaches/migraines, memory loss (also claimed as a neuropsychological condition), cardiovascular condition, bilateral hearing loss, bilateral tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 6, 2020
- Citation
- 20010021
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 20010021.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
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