The Board dismissed the appeal for service connection for bilateral tinnitus as moot, and remanded several other claims for further development.
The deciding factor: The July 2018 VA examination was inadequate due to lack of a reasoned rationale and medical explanation, and the evidence did not support a finding that the Veteran's lung condition or hypertension were related to his service. The Board also found the October 2018 VA examination for hearing loss to be inadequate.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral tinnitus, Lung condition (claimed as lung infections, pneumonia, and upper respiratory infections (URIs)), Hypertensive vascular disease (hypertension and isolated systolic hypertension), Bilateral hearing loss, Skin condition, Anatomical loss of both eyes, Heart condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 11, 2025
- Citation
- 25001965
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 275 · Granted: 33% (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 25001965.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a low back disorder was reopened, and his claims for increased ratings of bilateral knee instability were granted. His hearing loss claim was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeals of the initial ratings for his service-connected chronic cough and bilateral hearing loss are remanded due to procedural errors in the evidentiary record.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral pes planus with hammer toes, hallux valgus and degenerative arthritis, sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and bilateral kidney cysts, rendered him unable to secure or follow gainful employment. The Board granted the TDIU based on these conditions.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities (bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus) do not prevent him from securing and maintaining substantially gainful employment.
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