The Veteran's claims for cervical and thoracolumbar spine disabilities are being remanded due to the submission of new evidence.,Compensable ratings for allergic rhinitis and bilateral hearing loss have been denied.
The deciding factor: New evidence has been submitted that tends to support the Veteran's claim for service connection, but does not meet the criteria for a compensable rating under the applicable diagnostic codes.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative arthritis and disc disease, Degenerative arthritis of thoracolumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 2, 2026
- Citation
- A26000168
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 A26000168.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his service-connected degenerative arthritis of thoracolumbar spine due to insufficient examination and lack of consideration of functional loss due to pain, weakness, excess fatigability, incoordination, flare-ups, and medication effects.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew all his pending Board appeals and is satisfied with his 100 percent combined rating.
- Granted
An earlier effective date of March 9, 1998 for service connection for degenerative arthritis of thoracolumbar spine is granted.,The Veteran's entitlement to initial ratings in excess of 10 percent for sciatic radiculopathy of the left and right lower extremities is remanded.
- Granted
The Veteran's cervical spine disability is currently rated at 20 percent from June 16, 2021 to February 15, 2022. From February 16, 2022 to March 7, 2022, the rating remains at 20 percent.
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