Hearing loss decisions — 2009

The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for hearing loss in the right ear was denied as his current level of disability does not meet the criteria for any higher evaluation.

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to incomplete or unclear evidence, particularly regarding service connection for hearing loss and a brain tumor.

The Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were denied as there was no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Board granted a 20 percent rating for bilateral hearing loss effective July 18, 2007. The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date was denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is not causally related to active service and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability resulted in no worse than Level IV hearing in the right ear and Level II hearing in the left ear prior to August 10, 2009. As of August 10, 2009, his disability results in Level V hearing in both ears, warranting a 20% rating.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is related to his period of active service, and thus service connection for this condition is granted.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for a TDIU as his combined rating is less than 70% and he does not have one disability rated at least 40%. The Board finds that the evidence does not support an extra-schedular evaluation.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding no evidence of a relationship between these conditions and his military service.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss disability is currently rated at 30 percent, and the evidence does not support a higher rating.

The Board denied service connection for right ear hearing loss and tinnitus, finding no increase in severity of pre-existing conditions during active duty and doubting the Veteran's credibility regarding his onset of tinnitus.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss has been rated at 30 percent since November 6, 2007. The Board found that the evidence supported this rating.

The Veteran's claims for service connection were granted, with the exception of left ear hearing loss and gastrointestinal disability. The inner ear disability other than hearing loss was reopened due to new evidence, hypertension was not found to be related to service or service-connected conditions, and gastrointestinal disability was found to be aggravated by PTSD.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for left ear hearing loss, bunionectomy of metacarpal, left great toe, and bunionectomy of metacarpal, right great toe were denied as there is no evidence that the conditions are service-connected or warrant a compensable evaluation.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, traumatic arthritis of the left knee, and a psychiatric disability including anxiety, depression, and psychosis. The evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to service.

The Board found that the Veteran's hearing loss in his right ear was not incurred or aggravated by active service and denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, which represents a complete grant of the benefit sought on appeal. The issues of hearing loss of the left ear, low back condition, dizziness condition, and panic attacks/disorder (secondary to dizziness) are addressed in the REMAND portion of the decision below and are REMANDED to the RO via the Appeals Management Center in Washington, D.C.

The Veteran's service-connected tinnitus is assigned a 10 percent evaluation, the maximum evaluation authorized under Diagnostic Code 6260. There is no legal basis for the assignment of a schedular evaluation in excess of 10 percent for tinnitus.

The Board found that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is not related to his service, including noise exposure during active duty. The claim for service connection was denied.

The Board found that the Veteran's hypertension, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus were not incurred or aggravated by service. The Board also noted that there was no evidence of these conditions in service or for many years thereafter. Service connection was denied on a direct basis.