The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings and service connection has been remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding his hearing loss.
The deciding factor: The decision is based on a procedural error in not providing an adequate opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's conductive hearing loss, which was related to service exposure. The Board finds this as a pre-decisional duty to assist error and requires further examination.
- Claimed conditions
- unspecified schizophrenia, right ear conductive hearing loss, left ear conductive hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 17, 2021
- Citation
- A21018367
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 A21018367.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's initial evaluation for unspecified schizophrenia and other psychotic disorder is granted at a rating of 70 percent, effective from the date of the grant of service connection on July 12, 2018. The Veteran's TBI disability was combined with his psychiatric disability.
- Denied
The Veteran's VR&E services were denied as his reason for discontinuance of the program has not been removed, despite showing progress in therapy and treatment. The Board found that he did not meet the criteria to set aside the previous closure.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding the nature and likely cause of any acquired psychiatric disability, as well as whether the condition clearly and unmistakably preexisted service.
- Dismissed
Your initial claim for a higher rating for your service-connected psychiatric disability has been denied because you are already receiving the maximum available rating (100%).
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