Hearing loss decisions — 2009

The Veteran's appeal involves multiple conditions and issues, including lower back disability, gastroesophageal reflux disease, heart condition, hypertension, closed head injury residuals, hepatitis, syncope (fainting), bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and a psychiatric disability. The case is being remanded for further action.

The Veteran died of malignant melanoma, a condition not service-connected. His death is not considered to be due to any service-connected disability.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to issues regarding the July 2006 VA audiological examination and the August 2006 ear disease VA examination.

The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were not incurred in or aggravated by active military service.,There is no evidence of a relationship between the Veteran's current hearing loss and tinnitus disabilities and his military service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, and initial compensable evaluations for fracture residuals of the right foot, fifth metatarsal, and pes planus were denied. The Board found that there was no current disability for hearing loss and insufficient evidence to support a compensable rating for either the right foot or pes planus.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for hearing loss has been dismissed due to his death while the appeal was pending.

The Veteran's initial compensable disability rating for bilateral hearing loss is denied as his audiometric test results do not meet the criteria for a higher rating.

The Board has determined that the appellant does not have current diagnoses of bilateral hearing loss or tinnitus, and thus cannot establish service connection for these conditions.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current bilateral hearing loss disability for VA compensation purposes and therefore, service connection for hearing loss is denied.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has not been received to reopen the claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, thus denying these claims.

The Board has determined that additional evidentiary development is necessary prior to the adjudication of the appellant's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The case is REMANDED for a VA audiological examination and readjudication.

The Board found that the evidence received since July 1994 is not new and material, thus denying the Veteran's claims for reopening his service connection for right and left ear hearing loss, to include as secondary to service-connected tinnitus.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is manifested by pure tone threshold averages and speech recognition scores that correspond to not worse than level 'I' hearing on the right and level 'IV' hearing on the left, resulting in a noncompensable rating.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for additional development due to a lack of consideration of his exposure to aircraft engine noise in service.

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

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and granted it, finding that new evidence supports a current diagnosis of hearing loss and linking it to in-service noise exposure.

The Board found that the Veteran's claimed hearing loss and tinnitus disabilities were not incurred or aggravated by active service, as there was no evidence of such conditions during service or for many years thereafter. The Board also noted that the Veteran did not provide sufficient evidence to establish a direct service connection.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA examination to determine the etiology of his hearing loss and tinnitus.

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

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of bilateral hearing loss was denied as he did not submit a formal or informal application prior to May 7, 2007.