Hearing loss decisions — 2010

The Board found that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss disability was not incurred in or aggravated by his active military service, and denied his claim for service connection.

The Board found that the Veteran's claimed conditions are not related to his military service and denied all of his claims.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, an acquired psychiatric disability (bipolar disorder), bilateral hearing loss, and leukemia were all granted. The claim for a higher initial rating for tinnitus was denied as the maximum schedular rating of 10 percent has been assigned.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of unauthorized medical expenses incurred at a private hospital from February 8, 2004, to February 20, 2004, due to lack of prior authorization and because the appellant had additional medical coverage in the form of Medicare.

The Veteran's appeal for an earlier effective date for a 10 percent rating for bilateral hearing loss has been dismissed as the issue was previously considered and denied by the Board in April 2008, which is final.

The Board has determined that a VA examination is necessary to determine if the Veteran currently suffers from hearing loss disability and whether any such disability is related to service. The case will be returned for further development.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and hypertension, finding that there was no evidence of a current disability or a relationship to service.

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

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development to determine if his service-connected disabilities render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to improper reliance on medical opinion evidence that did not consider all of his service-connected disabilities. The case will be re-adjudicated after a VA examination by a psychiatrist.

The Board finds that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss disability is related to noise exposure during his military service, and grants service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's current hearing loss is being reviewed to determine if it is related to service, including combat-related acoustic trauma. Additional medical examination and opinion are needed.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD was denied, but his request to reopen a previously denied claim of right ear hearing loss has been granted. The Board found that the evidence did not support the Veteran's claimed in-service stressors and thus denied service connection for PTSD. However, new evidence related to the right ear hearing loss claim has been received.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional development, including an examination addressing the effect of his service-connected disabilities on his employability.

The Veteran's claim for a higher evaluation for bilateral hearing loss was denied as the evidence did not support a rating in excess of 40 percent from June 17, 2006 to August 31, 2009 and in excess of 50 percent thereafter.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss is currently rated at 30 percent from July 9, 2010. The Board finds that the evidence does not support a higher rating for any period.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are causally related to his military service, granting service connection for both conditions.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are being remanded due to the need for additional medical examination and consideration of new evidence.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is related to noise exposure during his active duty in the Air Force, and thus grants service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's acne, tinnitus, and bilateral hearing loss were all found to be service-connected. Acne was aggravated by service, tinnitus first manifested during service, and the Veteran has a current diagnosis of bilateral hearing loss.