The Veteran's hearing loss is currently rated as noncompensable, and the Board finds no evidence of a compensable rating throughout the appeal period.,For Crohn's Disease with hiatal hernia, the Veteran does not meet the criteria for a disability rating in excess of 10 percent prior to April 12, 2023 or 60 percent thereafter. The Board finds no evidence of severe impairment of health due to symptoms such as pain, vomiting, material weight loss, and hematemesis.,The Veteran's OSA is currently rated at 50 percent, but a remand is necessary for the VA examiner to assess whether his disability has worsened since his last examination over ten years ago.,For radiculopathy of the left lower extremity, the Veteran does not meet the criteria for a higher rating. A remand is necessary for the VA examiner to evaluate the current severity and nature of his symptoms.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not support an increased rating for hearing loss as there is no evidence of severe impairment of health.,The Veteran's Crohn's Disease with hiatal hernia did not result in symptoms that meet the criteria for a higher disability rating, such as pain, vomiting, material weight loss, and hematemesis.,There is insufficient medical evidence to support an increased rating for OSA prior to April 12, 2023. A remand is necessary to determine if there has been any worsening of the Veteran's symptoms since his last examination over ten years ago.,The Veteran does not meet the criteria for a higher disability rating for radiculopathy of the left lower extremity as he did not report severe impairment of health.
- Claimed conditions
- Hearing Loss, Crohn's Disease with Hiatal Hernia, Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), Radiculopathy of the Left Lower Extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 19, 2023
- Citation
- 23066870
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 23066870.
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 Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of entitlement to service connection for vertigo and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The Veteran's hearing loss is not rated higher than 10 percent.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the claims for service connection for OSA and insomnia must be remanded due to inadequate VA examinations and opinions, as well as a failure to obtain TERA opinions on all relevant exposures.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and a separate rating for chronic pulmonary embolism due to inadequate VA examinations.
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