The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and remanded claims for low back pain and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to insufficient evidence.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner's opinion was deemed more credible than the private medical opinion, as it included a review of the Veteran's service treatment records and file. The private medical examination did not include a review of the record, making its opinion less reliable.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral hearing loss, Low back pain, Acquired psychiatric disorder (somatic symptom disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, intermittent explosive disorder)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 16, 2025
- Citation
- A25044252
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The appeal is remanded to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors, including the failure to obtain relevant treatment records and provide adequate VA examinations.
- 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.
- 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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