The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied as he does not have a current disability.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for a left-hand index finger disability is denied as there is no evidence of a current diagnosis or treatment related to this condition.,The Veteran's claims for service connection for headaches and cervical spine disorder are remanded due to inadequate medical opinions in previous examinations.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for a cervical spine disorder is also remanded.
The deciding factor: There is no current evidence of bilateral hearing loss meeting the criteria for VA purposes, as defined by regulation. The Veteran does not have a current disability that meets the definition of a disability eligible for service connection.,The Veteran's left-hand index finger disability claim lacks competent medical evidence of a current diagnosis or treatment related to this condition during the appeal period.,Previous VA examinations did not consider whether the Veteran’s headaches and cervical spine disorder are due to his motor vehicle accident while on active duty, which is an important factor in determining service connection. The opinions from these VA examiners are inadequate for the purpose of determining service connection.,The previous VA examination did not address whether the Veteran's cervical spine disorder is related to his motor vehicle accident during active duty. Therefore, the opinion is inadequate for the purpose of determining service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, left-hand index finger disability, headaches, cervical spine disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 18, 2020
- Citation
- 20026924
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 20026924.
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.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- 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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