The Board has determined that new evidence warrants readjudication of the claims for service connection for bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus. The claim for tinnitus is granted, but the claim for bilateral SNHL is remanded due to a duty-to-assist error.
The deciding factor: The April 2018 VA examiner's opinion was based on an inaccurate characterization of the evidence, particularly regarding the lack of documented hearing loss and threshold shifts in service. The Board requires a new medical opinion to determine if the Veteran’s current bilateral hearing loss disability is related to his period of active duty service.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 19, 2020
- Citation
- A20015683
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,548 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation A20015683.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
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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