The Board remands the matter for a new VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any claimed ear condition, including otalgia.
The deciding factor: The May 2023 and December 2023 VA examiners' opinions are inadequate as they rely on the absence of any in-service reports of symptomatology and did not address the Veteran's lay statements.
- Claimed conditions
- ear condition, otalgia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 23, 2024
- Citation
- 24003437
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 30 percent rating for right hand strain status-post fracture of the third metacarpal and denied service connection for various other conditions including a right ankle condition, foot disability (torn Achilles tendon), acquired psychiatric disability, ear condition, head injury, left leg disability, and low back disability.
- Dismissed
The veteran's appeal for service connection for vertigo and an ear condition was dismissed due to a late filing of the Board Appeal request.
- Dismissed
The appeal was denied because the Veteran did not timely file a Board Appeal request with respect to the rating decision issued on August 19, 2019.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims of service connection for ear condition, bacterial vaginosis, headaches, and TMJ need to be remanded due to duty-to-assist errors.
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