The Board remands the issue of service connection for a disability manifesting in ear pain for further development, including a new VA examination.
The deciding factor: The January 2024 and January 2022 VA examinations are inadequate as they do not discuss possible TMJ dysfunction related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- ear pain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 30, 2025
- Citation
- A25039740
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,549 · Granted: 29% (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 A25039740.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for lumbar spine degenerative arthritis, lumbosacral strain, and hypertension, but denied service connection for tinnitus.
- Denied
The Board denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) prior to August 10, 2022 and special monthly compensation (SMC) at the housebound rate.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for an initial compensable rating and TDIU due to service-connected bilateral hearing loss, as well as a separate disability characterized by ear pain associated with the hearing loss.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss, irritability and social isolation as secondary to bilateral hearing loss, ear pain, dizziness, and vertigo as secondary to bilateral hearing loss, and TDIU due to his service-connected bilateral hearing loss.
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