The Veteran's appeal for an increased rating of major depressive disorder was denied due to failure to report for a scheduled VA examination without good cause.,The Veteran's appeal for an increase in his bilateral hearing loss disability rating was denied as he refused to attend additional VA examinations without good cause.,The Veteran's appeal for an increased rating of tinnitus was denied because the maximum schedular evaluation has been assigned, and no higher evaluation is warranted based on the current evidence.,Service connection for HIV was denied due to lack of a current disability. The weight of the persuasive evidence did not support finding that the Veteran had HIV.,Service connection for a left ankle disorder was denied as there was no evidence of a chronic left ankle disorder during service or within one year following discharge, and the claimant's statements were insufficient to establish nexus.
The deciding factor: The Veteran failed to report for a scheduled VA examination without good cause, resulting in denial of his increased rating claim for major depressive disorder.,The Veteran refused to attend additional VA examinations without good cause, leading to denial of his increase in bilateral hearing loss disability rating.,The maximum schedular evaluation for tinnitus has been assigned, and no higher evaluation is warranted based on the current evidence. The Veteran's statements were insufficient to establish that he had a current disability.,Service connection was denied as there was no current disability found, and the weight of the persuasive evidence did not support finding that the Veteran had HIV.,Service connection was denied due to lack of a chronic left ankle disorder during service or within one year following discharge. The claimant's statements were insufficient to establish nexus.
- Claimed conditions
- major depressive disorder, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), left ankle disorder
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 28, 2024
- Citation
- A24069146
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 715 · Granted: 43% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation A24069146.
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 Veteran's claim for specially-adapted housing assistance and a special home adaptation grant was denied because he does not meet the criteria for either benefit based on his service-connected disabilities.
- 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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