The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and rating of his right ear disability, including hearing loss, as well as his left ear hearing loss. The case will be returned to the RO for further development.
The deciding factor: The nature of the Veteran's Air National Guard service is unclear, and there are conflicting reports regarding his deployment to Turkey in 1996. Additionally, the medical opinions provided do not adequately address whether the right ear disability clearly and unmistakably pre-existed service or was aggravated by service.
- Claimed conditions
- Right ear disability, Left ear hearing loss disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 26, 2023
- Citation
- 23040950
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 23040950.
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 granted service connection for the Veteran's left ear hearing loss disability, finding that it is due to in-service hazardous noise exposure.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for right and left ear hearing loss disabilities and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service or any in-service noise exposure. The evidence does not support a finding of onset during service or within one year post-separation.
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