The Veteran's claims for service connection and secondary service connection are being remanded due to the inadequacy of a July 2016 VA opinion regarding bilateral hearing loss, diabetes, heart disorder, left leg tumor, prostate cancer, vision disorder, peripheral neuropathy, and sleep apnea. The Board will seek verification of herbicide agent exposure in Korea and obtain an addendum opinion from an audiologist to address the etiology of the Veteran's hearing loss.
The deciding factor: The July 2016 VA examiner’s opinion was inadequate as it did not consider the Veteran’s lay statements regarding in-service acoustic trauma and onset of hearing loss, nor did it address favorable evidence such as private audiograms showing hearing loss for VA purposes since 1993 and tinnitus attributed to service.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, type II diabetes mellitus, heart disorder, left leg tumor, prostate cancer, vision disorder, left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, sleep apnea
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 5, 2020
- Citation
- 20051873
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 20051873.
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.
- 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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