The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for an eye disability and a bilateral hearing loss disability due to inadequate VA examinations, failure to obtain private treatment records, and insufficient reasons and bases in the decision.
The deciding factor: The Joint Motion found that the Board failed to obtain outstanding private treatment records from Balboa Hospital and did not address the Veteran's testimony regarding his service-connected eye twitching. The Board also relied on inadequate VA examinations for both the eye disability and hearing loss claims.
- Claimed conditions
- left eye scar causing constant winking, bilateral macular degeneration, right and/or left eye disability (including blepharitis, dry eye syndrome, nuclear cataracts), bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 26, 2023
- Citation
- 23067488
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 23067488.
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.
- 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss claim, specifically needing an addendum opinion from a VA examiner. The Veteran will be asked to provide any missing records and former employers' information.
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