The Board has denied a compensable rating for bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and remanded the remaining issues.,The Veteran's claim for increased ratings for various finger disabilities is being remanded to allow for further examination.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not support the need for higher ratings in any of the service-connected conditions, as they are currently rated appropriately based on VA criteria. The remands are necessary to gather additional information and possibly conduct new examinations.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, degenerative arthritis of left thumb, degenerative arthritis of right thumb, degenerative arthritis of left index finger, degenerative arthritis of right index finger, degenerative arthritis of left long finger, degenerative arthritis of right long finger, degenerative arthritis of left ring finger, degenerative arthritis of right ring finger, degenerative arthritis of left little finger, degenerative arthritis of right little finger
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 11, 2023
- Citation
- 23050211
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 23050211.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's initial claim for service-connected bilateral sensorineural hearing loss was denied, and the rating assigned prior to September 12, 2024, is noncompensable.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, tinnitus, thoracolumbar levoscoliosis with advanced multilevel DDD and facet arthropathy (low back disability), and cervical spine disability to include cervicalgia (neck disability) due to a lack of VA examination records and an incomplete review of service treatment records.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service connection claims for hypertension, bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, GERD, Barrett's esophagus, and arrhythmia are remanded due to pre-decisional errors in obtaining necessary medical opinions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for hearing loss is being remanded due to pre-decisional duty-to-assist errors related to his Reserve component service.
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