Hearing loss decisions — 2009

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

The Veteran's audiometric test results correspond to numeric designations of no more than level II in the right ear and level I in the left ear, which translates to a 0 percent disability rating for bilateral hearing loss. The claim for an increased initial evaluation is denied.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss is currently rated as noncompensable, and the Board finds no evidence to warrant a higher rating.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were not incurred or aggravated by service, as there is no evidence of a pre-existing condition worsening during service. The claim for bilateral hearing loss was denied due to lack of aggravation, while the claim for tinnitus was denied based on the absence of a link between current symptoms and service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his military service, specifically exposure to acoustic trauma during combat duty in Vietnam. The claim is granted.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to in-service noise exposure, warranting service connection for both conditions.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not etiologically linked to his service or any incident therein, and thus denied both claims for service connection.

The Veteran died in October 2005 from intracranial hemorrhage due to, or as a consequence of, hypertension. The RO will need to provide proper notice and obtain a medical opinion regarding the cause of death and its relation to service-connected conditions.

The Board found that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss disability was not incurred in or related to his service, and denied his claim for service connection.

The Board found no evidence of a chronic left knee disorder, bilateral hearing loss, or tinnitus during service or within one year post-service. The Veteran's claims for these conditions are therefore denied.

The Veteran does not have a current hearing disability of either ear, and the Board finds that she does not meet the criteria for service connection.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinion and need for a new VA audiology examination.

The Veteran's right ear hearing loss is currently rated as noncompensable prior to November 18, 2008 and denied for an evaluation greater than 10 percent beginning on and after that date.

The Veteran's initial compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss remains at noncompensable due to his current hearing levels, which do not meet the criteria for higher evaluations under VA rating criteria.

The Veteran's claim for an increased initial evaluation and extra schedular rating for bilateral hearing loss was denied by the Board. The Veteran is currently receiving a 90 percent evaluation for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied as there is no evidence of a current disability related to service.

The Board found that the Veteran's hearing loss and liver cancer are not related to his military service, while hepatitis C is not shown to be directly caused by or aggravated by a service-connected condition. The claim for service connection was denied.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for a higher rating and earlier effective date for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for a VA examination to determine if the Veteran's current hearing loss is related to his in-service noise exposure.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is currently rated at 20 percent, and the Board finds that this rating adequately reflects his disability.