The Veteran's bilateral ankle disability manifested by pain is granted as service connection, but his right ear hearing loss and bilateral leg disability (claimed as shin splints) are denied. The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral leg disability and residuals of TBI.,Service connection for residuals of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is also remanded.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not meet the criteria for service connection due to lack of a current disability, as established by audiometric testing results. The Veteran's right ear hearing loss disability was denied because his pure tone thresholds and speech recognition scores did not meet the requirements for VA purposes.,Service connection for bilateral leg disability (claimed as shin splints) and residuals of TBI are remanded due to inadequate medical opinions based on incomplete or conflicting evidence.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral ankle disability manifested by pain, Right ear hearing loss disability, Bilateral leg disability (claimed as shin splints), Residuals of traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 6, 2023
- Citation
- A23034795
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 A23034795.
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 right ear hearing loss disability but denied service connection for a left ear hearing loss disability.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's right ear hearing loss disability began during service and is therefore granted as service connection.
- Granted
The Veteran's left ear hearing loss disability is related to hazardous noise exposure in service, while his right ear hearing loss disability was not aggravated during service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that there is not enough evidence to determine if the Veteran's right ear hearing loss disability was caused by his military service, and thus the case must be sent back for further examination.
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