The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service-connected.,The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and acquired psychiatric disorder (PTSD) are remanded for further evaluation.,The Veteran's headache condition, hypertension, and GERD are each remanded for further evaluation.,The Veteran's service connection claims for a headache condition, hypertension, and GERD are remanded due to the inextricability of these issues with his acquired psychiatric disorder claim.,The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is remanded for an examination to determine its etiology.,The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service-connected.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that the Veteran has a current diagnosis of tinnitus and grants service connection based on his lay statements regarding in-service noise exposure.,The Veteran did not undergo a formal audiological evaluation to determine if he had hearing loss, so remand is necessary for further examination.,The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder claim requires development to corroborate stressors and obtain an opinion from a VA psychiatrist.,Remand is necessary due to the inextricability of these issues with his acquired psychiatric disorder claim. The Veteran must undergo a VA examination to evaluate his headache condition, GERD, and hypertension.,The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was not confirmed as diagnosed, so remand is necessary for further evaluation.,The Veteran's tinnitus is granted based on the evidence of in-service noise exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss, an acquired psychiatric disorder (to include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorder, depressive disorder, and/or polysubstance abuse disorder), headache condition, hypertension, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 10, 2024
- Citation
- 24001617
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,548 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 24001617.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- 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 service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
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