The Veteran's initial ratings for slowed speech, swallowing difficulties, asbestosis, right and left upper extremity weakness, and bilateral hearing loss have been denied. The Board has found that the evidence does not support a higher rating for any of these conditions.,Service connection for tinnitus has also been remanded due to conflicting opinions in the medical records.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service-connected conditions do not meet the criteria for higher ratings under applicable diagnostic codes. The Board found that there was no evidence of thickening or nodules of the vocal cords, polyps, submucous infiltration, pre-malignant changes on biopsy, an inability to speak above a whisper, stenosis of the larynx, or the need for a laryngectomy for his service-connected slowed speech. For swallowing difficulties, there was no evidence of moderate esophageal stricture. The Veteran's asbestosis and upper extremity weakness were not found to meet the criteria for higher ratings under applicable diagnostic codes.,Service connection for tinnitus has been remanded because the VA examiner did not provide opinions on whether the current tinnitus is etiologically related to service, including to the in-service acoustic trauma that caused the service-connected bilateral hearing loss, and/or the symptoms of hearing noises in the ears reported during service. The VA examiner also did not address the theory of secondary service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- Status Post Cerebrovascular Accident with Slowed Speech (slowed speech), Asbestosis, Right Upper Extremity Weakness, Left Upper Extremity Weakness, Bilateral Hearing Loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 6, 2021
- Citation
- 21062227
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,200 · Granted: 43% (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 21062227.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. The issue remains under direct service connection theory.
- Denied
The Veteran's hearing loss was rated at 30 percent, the highest non-compensable rating available. The Board found that his hearing loss did not warrant a higher rating based on VA examinations and medical records.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current hearing loss and his active service. The Board noted that while he had complaints of earaches in service, these did not indicate a current disability.
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