Hearing loss decisions — 2000

The Board has determined that the veteran's left ear hearing loss disability is service-connected, as it was incurred during his military service.

The veteran's claims for service connection for right ear hearing loss, left ear hearing loss, and tinnitus are all granted. The evidence is at least in equipoise with respect to whether the conditions originated during service.

The Board has granted a 20 percent rating for the veteran's post-operative residuals of a fracture of the left humerus, effective from when the claim was filed. The increased ratings for coronary artery disease and hearing loss of the left ear are still pending.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been presented to reopen the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The claim is also considered well-grounded, thus giving rise to a duty to assist in its development.

The veteran's claims for higher ratings for his bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are being remanded to the RO due to the submission of new evidence, which must be considered before a final decision can be made.

The veteran's appeal has been dismissed due to his death during the pendency of the appeal.

The Board has determined that the veteran's right ear hearing loss was aggravated during service, warranting service connection. For his left ear hearing loss, which is currently rated as noncompensable, the evidence does not meet the criteria for a higher rating under current VA regulations.

The Board of Veterans' Appeals has determined that the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is not well-grounded, as there is no competent evidence of hearing loss or hearing loss disability during active service or within one year after separation from service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims of service connection for hepatitis with secondary respiratory disorder, hearing loss, tinnitus, bilateral knee disorder, and eye disorder are not well grounded. The evidence does not support a finding of current disabilities or a link between these conditions and service.

The Board has determined that the claims for service connection for left shoulder disability, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus are not well grounded. The evidence does not support a finding of service origin for these conditions.

The veteran's service-connected left ear hearing loss is evaluated as noncompensable due to the average pure tone threshold at 1,000, 2,000, 3,000 and 4,000 hertz of 59 decibels (dB). Speech discrimination ability is 72 percent in the left ear. The preponderance of evidence does not support a compensable evaluation.

The Board denied the veteran's claims of service connection for neurodermatitis, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus. The appeals regarding evaluations in excess of 10 percent for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were dismissed due to withdrawal by the veteran.

The Board found that the veteran's bilateral hearing loss is service-connected. The claims for prostate disorder, kidney stones, and back disorder are not well-grounded as there is no medical evidence linking these conditions to an incident of service or a service-connected disability.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims for septic arthritis, eczema, actinic keratoses, ankle warts, chondromalacia of the knees, right elbow tendonitis, and right ear hearing loss are not well grounded. The service connection claims have been denied.

The VA denied the veteran's claim for service connection of bilateral hearing loss, finding that his allegation was not supported by medical evidence and thus did not meet the well-grounded claim requirement.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for right ear hearing loss and chronic lumbar syndrome, as well as initial compensable evaluations for chondromalacia patella of both knees. The 10 percent evaluation based on multiple, noncompensable, service-connected disabilities was confirmed.

The Board denied restoration of the 60 percent disability rating for the service-connected lumbosacral spine disability, denied an increased evaluation for bilateral tinnitus, and denied a compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, low back injury, and right leg injury are not well-grounded because there is no competent medical evidence linking these conditions to an incident of service or a service-connected disability.

The veteran's claims for higher ratings for his PTSD and bilateral hearing loss are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining medical records and conducting VA examinations.

The Board found that the veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for hearing loss is not well-grounded and denied it.