Hearing loss decisions — 2010

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to assess the current level of disability and any relationship between his tinnitus and hearing loss.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Board finds that the Veteran's right ear hearing loss is causally related to in-service noise exposure and grants service connection for this condition.

The Veteran does not have a current right ear hearing loss disability for VA purposes and therefore, service connection is denied.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a right ankle disorder, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus. The claim for a right knee disorder was not addressed as it did not meet the criteria for reopening.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus were denied. The Board found that the preponderance of evidence did not support these claims.

The Veteran's service connection claim for bilateral hearing loss was denied as there is no evidence of a current disability, and the preponderance of the evidence does not support a finding that his currently diagnosed bilateral high frequency sensorineural hearing loss is related to his time in service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a hearing loss disability in either ear, and therefore service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied.

The Veteran's initial claim for bilateral hearing loss was granted with a noncompensable evaluation effective June 1, 2005. The evaluation was increased to 20 percent from January 4, 2007, and to 40 percent on July 17, 2009.,The Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 30 percent for hypothyroidism was granted with a 30 percent evaluation effective June 1, 2005.

The Veteran's right ear hearing acuity has been no worse than Level I throughout the appeal period, resulting in a non-compensable rating.

The Veteran's claims for higher ratings for service-connected right shoulder and lumbosacral spine disabilities are remanded due to the need for additional examination.

The Board has remanded the case due to the Veteran's failure to appear for VA examinations and other procedural issues.

The Board found that the Veteran timely initiated and perfected an appeal of the January 2004 rating decisions denying service connection for pneumoconiosis, pleural thick thickness, and bilateral hearing loss. The appeals are now pending.

The Board has determined that there is not enough evidence to support the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus. The Veteran's hearing was within normal limits during service, and he did not report any ear trouble at separation. There is no medical evidence linking his current hearing loss or tinnitus to his military service.

The Veteran's combined disability rating is 60 percent, which does not meet the threshold requirements for a TDIU under VA regulations. The evidence does not support a finding that his service-connected disabilities alone are of sufficient severity to produce unemployability.

The Board found that the effective date for the grant of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus cannot be earlier than June 13, 2007 due to lack of evidence showing a claim was filed before this date.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for higher initial ratings for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the maximum schedular disability rating authorized under VA's rating schedule is already assigned.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for a new examination to assess the etiology of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss was granted and assigned a 10 percent evaluation effective September 14, 2010. The appeal for higher evaluations is denied.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to a lack of service treatment records, requiring further development to determine if current diagnoses are related to service.