The Board has granted service connection for hypertension due to presumed exposure to herbicide agents in Vietnam. The claims for tinnitus and GERD are remanded as additional medical opinions are needed.
The deciding factor: Additional medical opinions are required to address whether the Veteran's tinnitus is proximately caused or aggravated by his service-connected left ear hearing loss, and whether his GERD was proximately caused or aggravated by treatment he received for prostate cancer (a disability of service origin).
- Claimed conditions
- hypertension, tinnitus, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 14, 2021
- Citation
- 21021835
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 21021835.
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 service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service connected. The issues of foot disability and cardiovascular disorder are remanded for additional development.
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