The Board has decided that a VA examination is needed to determine the current nature of any identified ear disability and its relationship to active service, including documented in-service earaches and eustachian tube dysfunction.
The deciding factor: The examiner must address whether the reported ear pain constitutes a recurrent ear disability and opine on the likelihood of any identified recurrent ear disability having its onset during active service or being related to any incident of service.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral ear disability, eustachian tube dysfunction
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 1, 2022
- Citation
- 22066797
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 22066797.
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 Board has granted readjudication of the Veteran's claims for service connection due to new and relevant evidence submitted since the June 2024 decision. The issues remain remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's eligibility for PCAFC benefits is in dispute due to a lack of private medical records, and thus the case must be remanded to obtain these records and provide an adequate medical opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has dismissed the appeals for chronic neuralgia and eustachian tube dysfunction due to withdrawal by the appellant. The Veteran's generalized anxiety disorder is granted, but the cervical spine degenerative arthritis and scar from hernia repair are remanded for further development.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a bilateral ear disability, excluding skin-related manifestations of lupus, finding no current disability and thus not meeting one of the three requirements for service connection.
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