The Veteran's death is being remanded due to the need for a VA addendum opinion regarding whether his service-connected bilateral hearing loss contributed substantially or materially to his cause of death, including dementia.,The Veteran's death is also being remanded due to the need for a VA addendum opinion regarding whether his death was caused by carelessness, negligence, lack of skill, error in judgement, or similar instance of fault on the part of the VA contracted healthcare facility.
The deciding factor: Both issues require additional evidence and analysis from a VA examiner.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, dementia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 29, 2020
- Citation
- 20070478
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,858 · Granted: 24% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 20070478.
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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