Hearing loss decisions — 2002

The Board has determined that the veteran's bilateral hearing loss does not meet the criteria for a compensable rating under VA's disability evaluation guidelines.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for eustachian tube dysfunction, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus. The evidence did not show that these conditions were incurred or aggravated by active military service.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, finding that he does not currently have a disability as defined by VA standards.

The Board has determined that the submitted evidence is not new and material for the claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, back disability, and bilateral foot disability. Therefore, these claims are denied.

The Board denied an increased rating for the veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss, finding that the evidence did not warrant a higher rating than the current 10 percent.

The veteran's appeal has been withdrawn prior to the Board making a decision.

The Board has dismissed the appeals as the veteran did not file a timely substantive appeal on these issues.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have current bilateral hearing loss or a left ankle disability that is related to service.

The Board of Veterans' Appeals denied a compensable evaluation for the veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss, finding that the results did not meet the criteria for an increased rating.

The Board denied the veteran's request to reopen his claim of service connection for hearing loss, finding that the new evidence submitted did not show a link between his current hearing loss and his military service.

The VA has determined that the veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss does not warrant a compensable rating, as his current average pure tone threshold levels do not meet the criteria for any higher evaluation.

The Board has determined that the veteran's hearing loss was not incurred or aggravated in service, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current bilateral hearing loss disability is due to, or resulted from, inservice acoustic trauma and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an initial compensable evaluation for bilateral defective hearing, finding that his current hearing loss does not warrant a higher rating based on VA examination results.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection of hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that there was no evidence to support an earlier date than March 27, 1998 for hearing loss or March 27, 1997 for tinnitus.,The decision also noted that the veteran's claims were denied in a February 1981 rating decision and did not reopen until March 1998.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded to the RO for further development and consideration of his claims, including review of revised rating criteria.

The Board has found that the veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his active duty service. However, the Board has determined that there is no evidence linking current back, neck, or shoulder disabilities to his military service.

The Board denied the veteran's claim of service connection for hearing loss in the right ear, finding no evidence linking his current condition to service or any incident therein. The left ear hearing loss was found to be related to service.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for a temporary total disability rating due to hospitalization for a nonservice-connected condition, as service connection was not established after admission and treatment for a service-connected hearing loss did not continue for more than 21 days.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss due to new and material evidence submitted since the last final denial. The current evidence supports a finding that the veteran currently suffers from a bilateral hearing loss disability, which is attributed to acoustic trauma during active combat service.