The Board remands the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss to obtain an addendum opinion that addresses the possibility of delayed onset hearing loss due to in-service noise exposure and other factors.
The deciding factor: The October 2022 VA examiner's opinion is inadequate as it failed to address the Veteran's report of relevant injury in service and relied on the absence of evidence in the treatment records, which is problematic given apparently unavailable records. Additionally, the examiner did not sufficiently adhere to the Board's instructions.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 4, 2023
- Citation
- 23000355
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, as there was no evidence of a current disability in the right ear and insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between the left ear hearing loss and service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for a medical clarification regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected epilepsy has aggravated his bilateral hearing loss.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss to obtain an addendum opinion addressing the Veteran's lay statements regarding in-service acoustic trauma and a rocket blast injury.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 17, 2019, for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD but denied earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
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