Hearing loss decisions — 2009

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were not incurred in or aggravated by his military service, and may not be presumed to have been incurred in service. The claims are therefore denied.

The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection have been dismissed due to the death of the appellant.

The Veteran's tinnitus and right ear hearing loss are rated at the maximum allowed under VA regulations. The Board found no legal basis for a higher rating, as there is no provision for separate ratings for bilateral tinnitus or for assigning a separate 10% rating for each ear of tinnitus. For his right ear hearing loss, the Veteran's non-compensable rating was upheld as he did not meet the criteria for a compensable rating based on the numeric designation assigned to his audiometric test results.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current low back disorder, right knee disorder, or left knee disorder that is related to his service. The claim for bilateral hearing loss must be denied by operation of law as there are no findings of a right ear hearing disability for VA compensation purposes.,By extending the benefit of doubt, the Board has determined that the Veteran's current left ear sensorineural hearing loss is due to noise exposure during his period of active service.

The Veteran's claims for lumbar degenerative disc disease, neck pain, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus were denied. Service connection was granted for a distorted left great toenail with an initial evaluation of 0 percent effective January 2006.

The Board found that the Veteran's hearing loss and tinnitus did not have onset during service, were not otherwise linked to his military service, and denied service connection for both conditions.

The Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is being remanded due to the need for a Travel Board hearing.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that these conditions did not originate during his military service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that there was no evidence to support these conditions.

The Veteran does not have hearing loss that is related to his military service.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining an opinion on the cumulative effect of the Veteran's service-connected disabilities on his employability.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, including left ear hearing loss, is denied as there is no evidence of a current disability or in-service noise exposure that could be causally related to the condition.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were denied as there was no medical evidence linking the current disabilities to his military service.

The Veteran's service-connected conditions do not render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is currently manifested by Level II hearing acuity in both ears, which does not meet the criteria for a compensable rating under VA disability criteria.

The Board finds that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and right ear tinnitus are not service-connected, as there is no medical evidence showing a direct link to his military service. The preponderance of the evidence indicates these conditions are more likely related to occupational noise exposure after service.

The Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and peripheral neuropathy of the left and right upper extremities were denied as there is no evidence showing a current disability or a link to service.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and cysts, finding that new and material evidence was not submitted to reopen these claims. The Veteran's tinnitus and bladder cancer were also found not to be related to his active service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to scheduling issues for a hearing before the Board of Veterans' Appeals.

The Veteran's initial claim for a compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss was denied as his hearing impairment did not meet the criteria for any higher rating.