Hearing loss decisions — 2010

The Board found no evidence of in-service hearing loss or tinnitus, and the current conditions are not related to service. Therefore, the Veteran's claims for bilateral sensorineural hearing loss disability and tinnitus were denied.

The Board found no evidence of a nexus between the Veteran's hearing loss disability and his service, including noise exposure. As such, the claim for service connection was denied.

The Board has remanded the case to obtain a VA otologic opinion regarding whether the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is related to his active service.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is found to be related to in-service noise exposure and service connection is granted.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is causally related to service exposure, and thus grants the claim for service connection.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including VA examinations and additional medical records review.

The Board has determined that additional notification and evidentiary development is required before the issues of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss are ready for Board adjudication.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and effective dates were denied. His hearing loss was rated as Level I in the right ear and Level III in the left ear, resulting in a non-compensable rating. The Veteran's PTSD symptoms did not meet criteria for a higher than 30 percent rating. Service connection for prostatitis and acne were not established due to lack of evidence related to military service or herbicide exposure. Claims for chronic ear disorder and kidney disorder were denied as new and material evidence was not received.

The Board has found that additional evidence development is required due to the inadequacy of a previous VA examination, and thus remands the case for further evaluation.

The Veteran's claim for TDIU is being remanded due to a material change in the facts relating to his service-connected disabilities, including recent grants of service connection and increased ratings. A VA examination will be scheduled to determine if the Veteran's service-connected conditions render him unable to obtain or retain substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is being remanded for further examination and opinion to determine if it is related to service, specifically the periods of active duty from January 2, 2002 to September 30, 2002, and from June 2004 to November 2005.

The VA determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss does not warrant a compensable evaluation, as his hearing acuity did not meet the criteria for any higher rating.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus and restrictive interstitial lung disease, finding that the Veteran's symptoms are related to his military service. The issue of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder remains pending.

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

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss is rated at 10 percent from February 22, 2008 to April 8, 2010. The current rating adequately reflects the severity of his condition.

The Board has granted the requested increased evaluations and service connection for certain disabilities based on the evidence of record.

The Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and a right thumb disorder were denied as there is no current diagnosis of these conditions. The Board found that the evidence does not support service connection for any of these conditions.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right knee disability and bilateral hearing loss are not service-connected, as there is no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Veteran's initial compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss was granted effective June 12, 2010.

The Veteran's appeal has been withdrawn due to the appellant requesting withdrawal of the appeal.