The Board has remanded the cases of service connection for a left ear injury and a respiratory disorder due to inadequate VA examinations in January 2021. The Veteran's STRs were unavailable, which may affect the outcome.
The deciding factor: VA examinations were not conducted properly as they did not consider the Veteran's lay statements or take into account the unavailability of his STRs.
- Claimed conditions
- left ear injury, respiratory disorder (sinusitis)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 20, 2021
- Citation
- 21031202
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 21031202.
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 Veteran's claims for service connection for sleep apnea, hypertension, diastolic dysfunction, and left ear injury are remanded due to inadequate VA examination opinions and the need for additional evidence.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for residuals of a left ear injury because the evidence did not show that the Veteran had such an injury.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for residuals of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and left ear injury as there is no current diagnosis or treatment for these conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of a left ear injury, to include hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence linking his current disability to service and that he did not have a compensable degree of hearing loss within one year of discharge.
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