The Board denied the petitions to readjudicate claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, but remanded an upper back and neck disability claim due to an inadequate VA examination.
The deciding factor: The January 2021 VA opinion was found inadequate because it did not explain why the Veteran's contention of neck pain since service is not consistent with the available treatment records or why the silence in the available treatment record can be taken as proof that the Veteran's neck pain did not occur during service, or that it was not related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral hearing loss, Tinnitus, Upper back and neck disability (including a neck strain and arthritis)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 20, 2025
- Citation
- A25026145
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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