Hearing loss decisions — 2007

The Board found that the veteran's bilateral hearing loss is not related to service and denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus have been denied as there is no evidence of in-service noise exposure or a nexus to service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluations for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, left ankle disability, and left knee disability. The veteran was not granted any additional ratings.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including scheduling a VA examination to determine the etiology of his hearing loss and tinnitus.

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

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and hepatitis. The decision found that new and material evidence had not been received to reopen the claim of bilateral hearing loss, and that there was no evidence establishing a current disability or showing that any diagnosed condition is related to active service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's left ear hearing loss was incurred in active service, and therefore grants service connection for this condition. However, there is no evidence of current right ear hearing loss, so the claim for service connection on this issue is denied.

The Board found that the veteran's hypertension was not incurred in or aggravated by service and may not be presumed to have been so incurred. The claim for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is addressed in the REMAND portion of the decision.

The VA denied a higher initial rating for service-connected bilateral hearing loss, assigning a noncompensable (0%) disability rating.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of left ear hearing loss, finding that the January 1983 rating decision establishing September 10, 1982 as the effective date was final and thus no legal basis existed to grant a prior effective date.

The Board dismissed the issue of entitlement to an increased evaluation for enlarged prostate. The claim for a compensable initial evaluation for bilateral hearing loss was denied.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a service-connected hearing loss disability for either ear, and thus cannot be granted service connection. The right ear is diagnosed with normal hearing to a moderate sensorineural hearing loss, which does not meet the threshold levels for a compensable disability under VA regulations. For the left ear, the evidence does not show that the veteran has three puretone thresholds of 26 decibels or greater at frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000 Hertz as required for a disability under VA regulations. The Board also found no evidence that the veteran's current hearing loss is related to service.

The Board finds that the veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are likely due to service exposure to noise, warranting service connection.,Service connection is granted for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.

The Board found no evidence linking the veteran's current back condition, hearing loss, or tinnitus to his military service. The conditions are therefore not considered service-connected.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral tinnitus, finding that the veteran's in-service noise exposure and reported symptoms of ringing ears during service are sufficient to establish service connection. The issue of an initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is dismissed as the veteran withdrew his appeal.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that there is no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and adjudicating the issues of increased ratings for bilateral hearing loss and whether there was clear and unmistakable error in a previous rating decision regarding tinnitus.

The veteran's claims for right shoulder strain, left shoulder strain, bilateral ear pain, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus were all denied as there is no evidence of current disabilities or a link to service.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have current hearing loss or tinnitus that is causally related to his military service.

The Board has granted the veteran's claim of service connection for tinnitus, but denied his request for a compensable disability evaluation for bilateral hearing loss based on initial grant of service connection. The case is remanded to obtain additional VA medical records and conduct further examination.