Hearing loss decisions — 2010

The Board found that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is not related to his military service and denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to September 26, 2007 for a grant of service connection for tinnitus. The Veteran's claim was granted in January 2008 with no earlier effective date due to lack of evidence of a previous claim.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right ear hearing loss disability and tinnitus, finding that he does not have a current disability. The claim for left ear hearing loss disability is granted based on in-service noise exposure.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and bilateral pes planus as these conditions are found to be causally related to active service.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss is currently manifested by severe hearing impairment, warranting a 40% evaluation as of November 30, 2009. The inner ear disorder has been diagnosed but is not considered to be secondary to the service-connected bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran requested to withdraw his appeal regarding a compensable initial evaluation for bilateral hearing loss on an extraschedular basis, and the Board has dismissed the appeal.

The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were not incurred in service or due to any incident of service, thus denying his claims for service connection.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA audiologist examination to determine if his hearing loss and tinnitus are related to service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss disorder and tinnitus, finding that there was no evidence of a hearing loss disorder during service or within one year of separation. The criteria for hearing loss under VA regulations were not met in any of the audiometric evaluations conducted during the Veteran's active duty.

The VA determined that there is no current diagnosis of bilateral hearing loss or tinnitus, and thus denied the Veteran's claims for service connection.

The Board found no evidence of hearing loss or tinnitus during service and concluded that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service. The claims for service connection were denied.

The Board has denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD. The Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are pending as there is no evidence of current disability or a link between the conditions and service. Service connection for frostbite of the feet was also denied due to lack of continuity of symptoms since discharge.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his military service, but there is no evidence of hearing loss for VA purposes within one year of discharge. Therefore, service connection is granted for tinnitus but denied for bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to assess the impact of his service-connected disabilities on his employability and obtaining updated VA treatment records.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for a VA audiology examination to determine the current level of severity of his bilateral hearing loss and to obtain evidence pertinent to his contention regarding entitlement to an extraschedular rating.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are found to be related to in-service noise exposure, and the claims for service connection are granted.

The Board granted a higher initial rating for PTSD, denied service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability, and remanded the application to reopen a claim of entitlement to compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for removal of the right lung.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus have been remanded due to the Veteran's failure to appear at a scheduled hearing. The case will be rescheduled for a hearing before a Veterans Law Judge.

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

The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected hearing loss in his left ear does not warrant a compensable evaluation, as it is currently rated at 0 percent.