The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to inadequate medical examinations and opinions. The AOJ is required to obtain new VA examinations to determine if the Veteran's disabilities are related to his military service.
The deciding factor: The July 2024 VA examination was found to be inadequate as it did not consider the Veteran's lay statements regarding when he first noticed symptoms of BHL and tinnitus, nor did it provide an adequate rationale for its conclusions on etiology.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 13, 2026
- Citation
- A26002958
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 A26002958.
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 service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. The issue remains under direct service connection theory.
- Denied
The Veteran's hearing loss was rated at 30 percent, the highest non-compensable rating available. The Board found that his hearing loss did not warrant a higher rating based on VA examinations and medical records.
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