The Veteran's right ear hearing loss has been rated at Level I throughout the appeal period.,The claims for service connection of neck condition and HTN are being remanded due to new evidence having been received.,Service connection is being granted for Type II diabetes mellitus (DM2) as secondary to HTN.,HTN is being remanded due to insufficient rationale provided by the examiner.,Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is being remanded due to insufficient rationale provided by the examiner.,The Veteran's left ear hearing loss claim is being remanded for further review of the audiometry records in his service treatment records.,Service connection for neck condition is being remanded as there was no consideration of the Veteran's lay report.
The deciding factor: There is insufficient evidence to warrant a compensable rating for right ear hearing loss.,The claims are being remanded due to new evidence having been received and VA examinations arranged.,The examiner did not consider all relevant medical studies, including the STRs that document HTN.,The examiner did not provide sufficient rationale for dismissing the elevated blood pressure readings in the STRs.,The examiner did not consider the Veteran's lay report of his neck condition history.,There are insufficient audiometry records to determine if there was a significant threshold shift between enlistment and separation.,The examiner did not consider the Veteran's lay report of his neck condition history.
- Claimed conditions
- Right ear hearing loss, Type II diabetes mellitus (DM2), Hypertension (HTN), Ischemic heart disease (IHD), Neck condition
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 22, 2021
- Citation
- A21018596
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 A21018596.
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 remanded the claims for further development due to insufficient evidence and need for additional examinations.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for a right ear hearing loss disability is dismissed. The appeal for service connection for bilateral knee disabilities is denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a compensable rating for right ear hearing loss and service connection for left ear hearing loss due to inadequate audiometric examinations. The Veteran will be scheduled for new VA examinations to determine the nature and etiology of his left ear hearing loss and the severity of his hearing loss.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection of hypertension and right ear hearing loss were denied. The Board has remanded these issues.,Service connection for hypertension was granted in June 2023 based on the PACT Act, but an earlier effective date is not warranted.
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