The Board has determined that the VA examinations and opinions regarding hearing loss, tinnitus, and their relationship to service are inadequate. The claims for these conditions must be remanded to provide a new examination and opinion.
The deciding factor: The January 2020 VA examination is deemed insufficient due to its failure to consider the Appellant's statements about noise exposure during service and the impact of his military occupational specialty on potential noise exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- hearing loss, tinnitus, acquired psychiatric disorder, sleep disorder, headaches, dizzy spells
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 26, 2024
- Citation
- 24017907
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 24017907.
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.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development regarding the Veteran's service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD.
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