The Board has granted service connection for a right ear hearing loss disability. The issues of service connection for carpal tunnel syndrome of the right wrist, right shoulder disability, and an acquired psychiatric disorder (including depression) are remanded due to insufficient medical opinions.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners provided inadequate nexus opinions regarding the Veteran's claimed disabilities, particularly those related to his in-service injuries and exposure. The issues must be further developed with addendum opinions addressing these matters.
- Claimed conditions
- Right ear hearing loss disability, Carpal tunnel syndrome of the right wrist, Right shoulder disability, Acquired psychiatric disorder (including depression)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 4, 2021
- Citation
- 21006679
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 21006679.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied service connection for a right shoulder disability and remanded the case for further action on heart disability. The decision regarding right shoulder disability is that it was not incurred in or aggravated by service.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a right ear hearing loss disability but denied service connection for a left ear hearing loss disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for various disabilities, including low back, left hip, right hip, left shoulder, and right shoulder disabilities. The VA examinations did not provide adequate opinions regarding the etiology of these conditions.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's right shoulder disability as secondary to his service-connected left shoulder disability, finding that the evidence is in equipoise and granting secondary service connection.
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