The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings are being remanded due to the need to obtain Social Security Administration (SSA) records, which may contain relevant medical information.
The deciding factor: The SSA records could provide additional evidence regarding the Veteran's disabilities and their impact on his ability to work.
- Claimed conditions
- sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, lumbar spine disability, numbness and tingling of the right foot, numbness and tingling of the left foot, headaches, painful motion of the right knee, limitation of extension of the right knee, painful motion of the left knee, limitation of extension of the left knee, diarrhea, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), cervical radiculopathy of the right upper extremity, cervical radiculopathy of the left upper extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 17, 2021
- Citation
- 21008468
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 21008468.
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.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- 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.
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