The Board remands the claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus to correct a duty to assist error that occurred prior to the rating decision on appeal.
The deciding factor: The July 2017 VA medical opinion is inadequate because it relied on the absence of evidence showing audiometric findings at service enlistment and separation, and the possibility there had been a significant threshold shift. The January 2018 medical opinion is also inadequate as it required evidence of a hearing loss disability during service by relying solely on normal hearing at separation with no significant threshold shifts.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral hearing loss disability, Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 17, 2025
- Citation
- A25052871
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.
- 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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 17, 2019, for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD but denied earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeals for service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus due to a lack of jurisdiction.
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