The Board remands the claim for service connection for hearing loss of the left ear due to an inadequate VA examination.
The deciding factor: The September 2025 VA examination is found to be inadequate as it failed to address whether the Veteran's conceded in-service noise exposure may have caused his current hearing loss, contrary to Hensley v. Brown, 5 Vet. App. 155 (1993).
- Claimed conditions
- Hearing loss of the left ear
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 15, 2025
- Citation
- 25014871
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 835 · Granted: 22% (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 25014871.
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 claims for service connection for hearing loss of both ears as there was no evidence of a current disability in accordance with VA standards.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial compensable disability rating for service-connected hearing loss of the left ear based on the results of a July 2024 VA examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for a compensable evaluation for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss and an acquired psychiatric disability, as well as remanded several other claims.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, a back disability, and radiculopathy of both lower extremities. Hearing loss claims were denied.
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