The Board has denied service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability due to the lack of audiometric criteria meeting VA standards.,Service connection is remanded for an acquired psychiatric disability and sleep apnea.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not meet the criteria for a current bilateral hearing loss disability for VA purposes, and there are conflicting opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disabilities and sleep apnea.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Acquired Psychiatric Disability (likely including PTSD, other specified personality disorder, and unspecified depressive disorder), Sleep Apnea
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 28, 2022
- Citation
- 22037092
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 22037092.
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 Board denied service connection for sleep apnea, finding that the evidence did not support a link between the condition and service.
- 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.
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