The Board remands the service connection claims for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, back condition, peripheral neuropathy (hands), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and respiratory issues, as well as the nonservice-connected pension benefits claim, due to an inadequate statement of reasons and bases in its January 2024 decision.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that the February 2016 statement fails to constitute a valid withdrawal of the appeal of the January 2016 rating decision, necessitating further development and readjudication.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral hearing loss, Tinnitus, Back condition, Peripheral neuropathy (hands), Traumatic brain injury (TBI), Respiratory issues
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 17, 2025
- Citation
- 25009315
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, as there was no evidence of a current disability in the right ear and insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between the left ear hearing loss and service.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for a medical clarification regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected epilepsy has aggravated his bilateral hearing loss.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss to obtain an addendum opinion addressing the Veteran's lay statements regarding in-service acoustic trauma and a rocket blast injury.
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