The Board has denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, a skin condition including skin cancer, and a right knee disability. The Veteran's claim of service connection for benign neoplasms of the gynecological system or breast (claimed as lipomas over body) is also remanded.,Service connection was not granted for heart disease due to an insufficient medical opinion addressing the Veteran's Reserve periods.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not establish a current disability, and there is no competent medical evidence linking any diagnosed condition to service. The Board found that the Veteran did not have a current skin condition or right knee disability during his period of service.,The May 2017 VA medical opinion was insufficient as it did not account for the Veteran's periods of ACDUTRA and INACDUTRA, particularly from May 5, 1995 to May 8, 1996. The Board found that a remand is necessary to obtain an addendum opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, skin condition, to include skin cancer, right knee disability, benign neoplasms of the gynecological system or breast (claimed as lipomas over body)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 20, 2023
- Citation
- 23023222
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 23023222.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess his bilateral knee and hip disabilities.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
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