Hearing loss decisions — 2006

The Board has determined that the veteran's bilateral hearing loss does not warrant a compensable evaluation, as his pure tone threshold average and speech recognition scores do not meet the criteria for a higher rating under VA's Schedule for Rating Disabilities.

The Board has determined that a new VA examination is needed to assess the current severity of the veteran's bilateral hearing loss, as the most recent medical evidence is over four years old and from more than five years ago.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a service-connected disability for his left eye, right ear hearing loss, thrombocytosis, or pharyngitis. The veteran's vision and hearing issues are attributed to refractive error and exposure to infectious diseases during service, respectively.

The Board has determined that the veteran's cause of death was not incurred in or aggravated by service, nor as a result of a service-connected disability.

The Board denied service connection for a bilateral knee disorder, back disorder, and right ear hearing loss. Service connection was granted for left ear hearing loss and tinnitus.

The veteran's appeal for service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and PTSD has been dismissed due to his death.

The veteran disagrees with the initial noncompensable disability rating for his bilateral hearing loss and believes it should be higher. The VA has not obtained all relevant medical records, including a letter from Dr. Michael Zoller.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss and right eye disability do not render him unemployable, as his other disabilities are not severe enough to prevent him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss does not warrant an increased evaluation, as his current hearing levels do not meet or approximate the criteria for a compensable rating.

The Board has denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability, finding that there is no evidence of such a condition during or within one year after his military service and concluding that any current hearing loss is not related to his military service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, both granted in July 2003 with an effective date of October 25, 2002.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for a compensable rating for his service-connected right ear hearing loss, finding that the evidence did not meet the criteria for assignment of such a rating.

The veteran's appeal for service connection on hearing loss disability is dismissed. The Board finds that tinnitus was incurred in service and grants the claim of service connection for tinnitus. The issue of PTSD remains pending as it has not been verified.

The Board found that the veteran's current bilateral hearing loss did not manifest during service or within one year thereafter and is not etiologically related to service. Therefore, service connection for bilateral hearing loss was denied.

The Board denied service connection for a heart disorder, hypertension, and bilateral hearing loss due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to military service.

The Board has determined that there is no evidence to support the veteran's claim of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, and thus denied the claim.

The Board found no evidence of hearing loss in service and concluded that the veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is not related to his military service. The claim for service connection was denied.

The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, effective December 7, 1999.

The Board has remanded the case due to a need for additional development and notification under VCAA.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that while he had current left ear hearing loss, there was no evidence of such a disability in service or within one year after service. The Board also found that the preponderance of medical evidence did not support a link between his current hearing loss and his military service, including acoustic trauma from combat exposure.