The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral tinnitus. The claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, relapsing polychondritis, hemorrhoids, and a lumbar spine disability are remanded due to deficiencies in the analysis.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not meet the regulatory requirement for service connection under 38 C.F.R. § 3.385 for bilateral hearing loss, thus requiring further examination to determine if the Veteran now meets this requirement.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral tinnitus, relapsing polychondritis, hemorrhoids, lumbar spine disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 3, 2023
- Citation
- 23013199
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 23013199.
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 service connection for a lumbar spine disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claims for miscarriage, cervical spine disability, lumbar spine disability, and right elbow disability due to insufficient examination opinions and incomplete service history verification.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for left toe amputation, triple bypass surgery, blockage in legs, and bilateral tinnitus due to procedural errors and the need for additional medical opinions regarding potential exposure to toxins during service.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee disability, right knee disability, lumbar spine disability, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as these issues have been addressed in a separate docket.
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