The Board has reopened the issue of service connection for bilateral hearing loss due to new evidence received since a final December 2007 rating decision. The remaining issues on appeal, including those related to back disability and other conditions, are remanded for further development.
The deciding factor: New evidence submitted by the Veteran suggests the presence of a current bilateral hearing loss disability, which triggers VA's duty to provide an examination regarding the service connection claim for bilateral hearing loss.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, back disability, chronic otitis media, conjunctivitis, left thumb disability, left knee disability, right knee disability, dermatitis, tinea pedia (athlete's foot), hypertension, kidney disability, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), obstructive sleep apnea, coronary artery disease
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 4, 2021
- Citation
- 21061611
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,863 · Granted: 26% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 21061611.
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 of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess his bilateral knee and hip disabilities.
- 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.
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