Hearing loss decisions — 2010

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including a VA examination to assess the impact of his service-connected disabilities on his ability to walk unaided.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus disabilities are not related to service, and therefore denied both claims.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for a new VA audiological examination and consideration of whether referral for an extra-schedular evaluation under 38 C.F.R. § 3.321(b)(1) is warranted, as well as the intertwined claim for TDIU.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining a new VA audiology and orthopedic examination to determine if the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and back disability are related to service. The claims will be reconsidered after these actions.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a hernia condition and bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no causal relationship between these conditions and his military service.

The Board found that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to his active duty service, as there is no evidence of a nexus between his in-service noise exposure and his present conditions. The claims for service connection were denied.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and sleep apnea, as well as whether these conditions are related to his military service. The case will be remanded for further action.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for lumbosacral spine injury residuals, head injury residuals, and hypertension. The Veteran submitted new and material evidence that raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating his claims.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed back disorder, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus are not related to his active service. The evidence does not establish a nexus between these conditions and his military service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, a pulmonary disability, and a bilateral foot disability were denied as there is no evidence of in-service injury or disease that would support these claims.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability is currently rated at 20 percent, and the Board finds that it does not warrant a higher rating based on the evidence of record.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for a left ankle disability, a compensable initial evaluation for bilateral hearing loss, and a rating in excess of 60 percent for tinea versicolor were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support the presence of a left ankle disorder during service or within one year after separation from service, and thus could not be presumed to have been incurred therein.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, foot fungus, and malaria have been denied as new and material evidence was not received to reopen any of these claims.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus and assigned a noncompensable disability rating for bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to his death during the pendency of the appeal.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is currently evaluated as 10 percent disabling, and the evidence does not support a higher rating.

The Veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss is being remanded due to the need for an updated VA audiological examination.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is due to noise exposure during his military service and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss renders him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, and thus grants TDIU.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining VA medical records and scheduling the Veteran for audiometry examinations to determine if his bilateral hearing loss is related to service.