The appeal is remanded to obtain an adequate medical opinion regarding the likely etiology of the Veteran's frontotemporal dementia, specifically whether it was aggravated by service-connected bilateral hearing loss.
The deciding factor: The Board erred by relying on an inadequate November 2022 medical opinion that did not properly address the issue of aggravation by the service-connected disability.
- Claimed conditions
- frontotemporal dementia, residuals of traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 12, 2024
- Citation
- 24032820
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 service connection for tonsilitis and a left shoulder disability, but denied service connection for residuals of traumatic brain injury (TBI), right ankle, and left ankle disabilities. The claim for a higher rating for GERD was also denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of traumatic brain injury (TBI), finding that there was no evidence of a current disability and no nexus to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the appeal for further development, including obtaining relevant private treatment records and reexamining service-connected residuals of TBI.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeal for all issues, including initial ratings and service connection for persistent depressive disorder, residuals of TBI, and headaches.
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