The Board has denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, and an undiagnosed illness (claimed as fatigue). The Veteran's bilateral hand disability other than the right little finger contusion mallet finger is also remanded. Service connection for degenerative arthritis of the bilateral shoulders remains in dispute.,Service connection for bilateral hearing loss was denied due to lack of current diagnosis meeting VA rating criteria.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's bilateral hand disability other than the right little finger contusion mallet finger is remanded because the November 2022 VA examiner did not address the nature and etiology of his osteoarthritis in the bilateral hands based on the Veteran's lay statements.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Hypertension, Degenerative Arthritis of the Bilateral Shoulders, Bilateral Hand Disability (other than residuals from right little finger contusion mallet finger), Undiagnosed Illness (claimed as fatigue)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 31, 2023
- Citation
- 23020114
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 23020114.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for hypertension, finding that it did not manifest during service and is not causally related to the Veteran's exposure to herbicides or service.
- 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 the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and active duty service or herbicide exposure.
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