What can I expect at a VA appeal hearing? Before, during, and after?

All I know is that the wait is long, I filed an appeal in 2015 and was told that it could take up to 5 years for the board to even look at my appeal. I don't understand why the process is so long, it makes absolutely no sense at all.
The only good thing is that if you win your appeal they will back pay you from the original date of the appeal. One of my wife's coworkers was awarded just over $125,000 2 years ago from an appeal he had filed several years earlier.
Good luck to all of us waiting on the clunky, dinosaur driven VA to make a move.

PFC Pamala (Hall) Foster You are on about the right timeline for the BVA hearing. Don't expect an answer at the hearing - this is only for the law judge to hear from you and go over any questions he or she has about your case or the evidence. It's also the opportunity for you to introduce any new evidence or claims you might have, and to point out the highlights of your case, the strong points of your evidence, your major points of disagreement with the original and any other decisions made.

The hearing officer will be a lawyer who has been appointed as an administrative judge by the VA. As someone else mentioned to you, rightfully so, give them a chance and they generally will do the right thing. They can grant your award in full, grant it in part, deny it completely, deny parts, or send all or some of it back to the VARO for further work. Those are the choices they have; not all great options.

There is some good information about the BVA appeals process right on their own home page: http://www.bva.va.gov You can do a Google search that will give you more information on what happens during the hearing. I've heard good things about DAV representation in some places, but the office here in Baltimore has been no help to me at all, and I haven't been able to find any lawyers interested in taking the case, either. But try to find someone you are comfortable with to represent you, and that will help immensely. Have copies of all you paperwork, evidence, forms, supporting notes, and anything you might need, and have it organized and marked so you can find it quickly when being pressured to produce it. But stay as calm as you can and don't let them rush you more than you want to be rushed! Take deep breaths and think your responses through before saying a word when you answer the questions put to you. Think of what they are asking and why, then tell them the truth, but put it in the terms most favorable for what you're trying to make them understand.

I also think it's helpful for you to have some research on other cases like yours to use as references and support. You can find those here http://www.index.va.gov/search/va/bva.jsp and for the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (the next step up from the BVA in legal ruling terms) at http://search.uscourts.cavc.gov

Good luck!!

Is it a hearing or have you filed an appeal of a decision? If you need, I can provide a summary of the process.