Hearing loss decisions — 2010

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus, finding that new and material evidence was not received to reopen his previously denied claim for bilateral hearing loss disability. The Board also found that there is no evidence linking tinnitus to military service.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection have been denied. The Board found no new evidence to reopen the claim of segmental dysfunction, cervical spine.

The Board found that the Veteran's right ear hearing loss did not have its onset in service, was not manifest to a degree of 10 percent within one year after separation from service, and is not causally related to any incident of service including noise exposure. As such, the claim for service connection for right ear hearing loss was denied.

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to additional evidence submitted by the Veteran's representative and incomplete interpretations of previous audiometric evaluations.

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

The Veteran's initial claim for bilateral hearing loss was granted, but the assigned noncompensable evaluation is denied as his hearing loss did not meet criteria for a compensable rating prior to October 17, 2009. For the period beginning on and after October 17, 2009, an evaluation greater than 30 percent was also denied.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss did not manifest during service or within one year thereafter and has not been shown to be related to her service. As a result, the Board finds that she does not meet the criteria for VA hearing loss and therefore cannot establish service connection.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right ear hearing loss is due to noise exposure during service and his left ear hearing loss is aggravated by service. As a result, both conditions are granted as service connected.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a VA audiological examination to determine whether pre-existing right ear hearing loss was aggravated by service and whether current tinnitus is related to noise exposure or other disease/injury in service.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are related to his military service.

The Board finds that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss disability is related to his active duty service and grants the claim for service connection.

The Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss and left ankle disabilities were denied, and the increased ratings for residuals of excision of the left cheek nevus with scar and discoloration and lumbar spine degenerative disc disease at L4-L5 and L5-S1 were also denied.

The Veteran's claims for higher ratings for hearing loss and tinnitus, as well as service connection for various disabilities including a back disability, were denied. The assigned initial ratings for these conditions are non-compensable.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional evidentiary development, including a VA examination for psychiatric disorders and an audiological evaluation.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the current disabilities did not have their onset during or as a result of active duty. The Veteran's military records showed no evidence of hearing loss or tinnitus at the time of discharge.

The Veteran's irritable bowel syndrome, bilateral hearing loss, hemorrhoids, and residuals of cholecystectomy are all found to be related to his service. However, the Veteran does not meet the criteria for a compensable disability rating in any of these cases.

The Veteran's PTSD with anxiety disorder is currently rated at 70 percent, effective March 29, 2008. Prior to that date, the rating was increased to 50 percent in April 2008.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss, finding that new and material evidence was not submitted to reopen the tinnitus claim and that there is no evidence of a current disability related to service for hearing loss.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for service-connected tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss have been denied as there is no legal basis to assign a schedular evaluation in excess of the maximum allowed under VA regulations.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is not related to his military service, including as due to inservice noise exposure. As a result, the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied.