The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a bilateral eye disability, increased ratings for hearing loss and anxiety disorder, and left varicocele. The issues of intertrigo (formerly dermatitis) and entitlement to TDIU have been remanded.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence linking current eye disabilities to in-service smoke exposure or other service events.
- Claimed conditions
- nystagmus, bilateral hyperopia and presbyopia, astigmatism of the left eye, cataracts bilaterally, presumed glaucoma (based on suspected glaucoma findings), macular degeneration
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 9, 2020
- Citation
- 20065811
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for glaucoma and macular degeneration, finding that the evidence did not support a causal relationship between these conditions and the Veteran's military service.
- Dismissed
The veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection for macular degeneration and sleep apnea.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for macular degeneration and prostate cancer to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error related to toxic exposure risk activity.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection of a bilateral eye condition other than dry eye syndrome to ensure compliance with previous directives, including obtaining an addendum opinion that addresses the likely etiology of the claimed conditions.
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