The Veteran's claim for a compensable initial rating for bilateral hearing loss has been denied.,The Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to December 19, 2018, for the grant of service connection for bilateral hearing loss has been denied.,The Veteran's claim for TDIU has been remanded.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence showing that the Veteran submitted a formal or informal claim prior to December 19, 2018, for an effective date earlier than December 19, 2018, for the grant of service connection for bilateral hearing loss.,The Veteran's current disability rating for bilateral hearing loss is noncompensable under VA regulations. The Board found that his audiometric results did not meet the criteria for a compensable rating based on the combination of speech discrimination and average puretone threshold levels.,The Veteran has been provided with notification letters regarding his TDIU claim, but further development is needed to determine if he meets the requirements for a TDIU.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 15, 2020
- Citation
- 20040684
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 20040684.
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.
- 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss claim, specifically needing an addendum opinion from a VA examiner. The Veteran will be asked to provide any missing records and former employers' information.
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