The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is denied.,Service connection for residual neck surgical scars is granted.,Service connection for right foot disability is denied.,The Board has remanded the issue of service connection for bilateral eye disabilities (glaucoma, right eye cataract, left eye pseudophakia).
The deciding factor: The most probative evidence of record persuasively weighs against the claim of entitlement to a compensable rating for hearing loss.,A nexus has been established between the current disability and service due to a surgical procedure on the neck during service.,No current right foot or ankle disability is shown, and no diagnosis related to a torn Achilles tendon was provided by VA examinations.,The Veteran's reports of vision problems in service are not addressed in the September 2020 VA examination.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Residual Neck Surgical Scars, Right Foot Disability, Bilateral Eye Disabilities (Glaucoma, Right Eye Cataract, Left Eye Pseudophakia)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 10, 2023
- Citation
- 23001569
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,341 · Granted: 33% (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 23001569.
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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