The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to insufficient explanation in the September 2017 VA examination report. The Veteran's claims are not granted as there is no evidence of a significant threshold shift or change in his hearing acuity during service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the September 2017 VA examiner did not provide sufficient rationale for their opinion regarding the presence of significant threshold shifts or changes in the Veteran's hearing acuity during service, which is necessary to determine if his current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to noise exposure in service.
- Claimed conditions
- acquired psychiatric disorder (anxiety disorder), periodontal disease (pyorrhea)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 10, 2021
- Citation
- 21041830
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 21041830.
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 was dismissed because the appeals were untimely filed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board is unable to determine the periods of employment and unemployment for the Veteran prior to April 17, 2005 due to incomplete records. The case is being remanded to obtain these records.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient development and consideration of evidence, particularly regarding his neck and back disabilities as well as secondary service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for photodermatitis, an increased rating for SMC on account of loss of use of a creative organ, and a rating in excess of 10 percent from November 30, 2009 to January 29, 2010, and 20 percent from January 29, 2010 forward for carpal tunnel syndrome and neuropathy of the right upper extremity is dismissed.,The appeal for an effective date prior to October 27, 2005 for hypertension is dismissed. The Veteran's claim was denied in December 2002 but reopened in October 2006 with a grant of service connection effective October 27, 2005.
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