Hearing loss decisions — 2009

The Board has determined that the veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is not related to his military service, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Board denied the appellant's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection for hearing loss, finding that the earliest possible effective date is June 9, 2005. The appeal concerning individual unemployability was dismissed.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to his service, and thus denied both claims.

The Board is remanding the case for scheduling a travel board hearing at the RO in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The Board found no evidence of a current hearing loss disability and denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss. For the dental claim, the Board determined that there was insufficient evidence to establish service connection due to lack of continuity of symptoms.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for sinusitis and hearing loss were denied, while his claim of service connection for a right leg disability was also denied. The issue of reopening the previously-denied claim for degenerative disc disease on a direct basis is not in appellate status as the Veteran has accepted the TDIU decision.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for low back disability, hearing loss, and tinnitus. The claim for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for migraine headaches prior to February 27, 2008 was granted with a 30 percent rating effective from that date.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, gastrointestinal condition (secondary to PTSD), right foot condition, headaches, and neuropathy of the left arm. The decision also noted that tinnitus was not granted as it did not meet the criteria for a grant of service connection prior to January 4, 2007.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right ear hearing loss, finding that his condition is not related to military service. The claim for left ear hearing loss was granted as it is at least as likely as not due to both in-service and post-service noise exposure.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to scheduling issues and a request for an initial evaluation higher than the currently assigned 50 percent for PTSD. The Veteran has also requested a hearing before a Decision Review Officer.

The Board finds that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is due to in-service noise exposure and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board found that the Veteran's degenerative arthritis of the lumbosacral spine and bilateral hearing loss disability were not incurred or aggravated in service, and thus denied both claims.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of a compression injury to the spinal column is not addressed in this decision. The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and residuals of a varicocelectomy are both denied.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is currently rated as noncompensable (0%) due to the level of hearing impairment, which does not warrant a higher evaluation.

The Veteran's initial claim for an increased rating for bilateral hearing loss was denied prior to May 21, 2008. After this date, the VA found that his hearing loss warranted a 30% disability rating.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is manifested by average right ear pure tone thresholds of no worse than 29 decibels and left ear pure tone thresholds of 36 decibels, with speech discrimination scores in the 90s. The VA determined that these results do not meet the criteria for a compensable evaluation under the rating schedule.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings for PTSD, tinnitus, and bilateral hearing loss were denied. The appeal for TDIU was not addressed as it is part of the remand portion.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disability and bilateral hearing loss. The decision is final as it was made in July 1999.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss on the basis of new and material evidence. However, the claims are being remanded to the RO for further development before readjudicating them on their underlying merits.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for service-connected bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating for either condition, as the audiometry results did not warrant a compensable evaluation for hearing loss or a schedular evaluation in excess of 10 percent for tinnitus.