The Board has determined that further development is necessary before the Veteran's claim for service connection for a jaw disability can be adjudicated. The claim will be remanded to determine if the Veteran's jaw pain reached the level of a functional impairment affecting his earning capacity and whether it was etiologically related to his period of active service or caused by his service-connected depression, hearing loss, and tinnitus.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the February and March 2022 opinions were inadequate for evaluation purposes as they did not address submitted medical articles suggesting a possible link between jaw pain and depression. The claim is therefore remanded to provide an addendum opinion addressing these articles.
- Claimed conditions
- jaw disability, bruxism, temporomandibular joint syndrome (TMJ)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 27, 2022
- Citation
- 22031564
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 22031564.
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.
- Partly granted
The claims for service connection for hypertension, back pain, right hip pain, left hip pain, right knee pain, and left knee pain have been readjudicated. The claim for sleep apnea has also been readjudicated.,Service connection has been granted for a neck condition, back pain, right hip pain, left hip pain, right knee pain, left knee pain, an acquired psychiatric disorder, bruxism, and vertigo.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection on multiple conditions have been dismissed due to the Veteran's withdrawal of the appeal.
- Granted
The Veteran's jaw disability, manifested by pain, is granted as service connection due to its onset during active duty and the resulting functional impairment.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for cervical strain with degenerative arthritis, intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS) and spinal stenosis and bruxism. The Veteran's neck disability is believed to have started following a skydiving accident during active service, while her bruxism began during active service.
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