The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is currently rated as noncompensable.,The claim for service connection for skin cancer and an acquired psychiatric disability (including PTSD and depression) is remanded due to the need for additional development regarding exposure to ionizing radiation during service.,The claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD and depression, is remanded as it may be significantly impacted by a determination on the skin cancer claim.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's hearing loss does not meet the criteria for a compensable rating under VA regulations.,Additional development is needed to determine if the Veteran was exposed to ionizing radiation during service and whether such exposure caused or contributed to his skin cancer. The same applies to the psychiatric disability claim, as it may be related to the skin cancer.,The claims are remanded because they are inextricably intertwined with the determination of whether the Veteran's skin cancer is service-connected.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Skin Cancer (Kaposi's Sarcoma), Acquired Psychiatric Disability (PTSD and Depression)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 22, 2020
- Citation
- A20015892
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 105 · Granted: 19% (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 A20015892.
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 Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. The issue remains under direct service connection theory.
- Denied
The Veteran's hearing loss was rated at 30 percent, the highest non-compensable rating available. The Board found that his hearing loss did not warrant a higher rating based on VA examinations and medical records.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current hearing loss and his active service. The Board noted that while he had complaints of earaches in service, these did not indicate a current disability.
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