The Veteran's appeal for a compensable disability evaluation for bilateral hearing loss (BHL) is denied.,The Veteran's appeal for a disability evaluation in excess of 10 percent for tinnitus is denied.,The Veteran's appeals for effective dates prior to October 28, 2015 for the grants of service connection for BHL and tinnitus are denied.,The Veteran's appeal for an effective date prior to October 28, 2015 for the grant of service connection for hepatitis C is denied.,The Veteran's appeals for a disability evaluation in excess of 40 percent for hepatitis C prior to May 3, 2024 and for SMC and DEA are remanded.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not support a compensable disability rating for the Veteran's service-connected BHL.,The Veteran's tinnitus has been assigned the maximum schedular rating available for that disability.,The earliest date of receipt of the claim was October 28, 2015. The AOJ has assigned the earliest possible effective dates for the awards of service connection for BHL, tinnitus, and hepatitis C.,The Veteran's private treatment records are incomplete and need to be obtained from his gastroenterologist and Dr. A.S.,VA policies require VA to obtain authorization and request private medical records when they have been identified by the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Tinnitus, Hepatitis C
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 14, 2026
- Citation
- A26003639
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 A26003639.
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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