Hearing loss decisions — 2011

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of unauthorized private medical expenses incurred at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital on April 20, 2009 due to lack of emergency treatment and because VA was not feasibly available.

The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were not incurred in service, but his right hip disorder is related to his service-connected left knee disability.

The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus were not incurred in or aggravated by service, as there was no evidence of a nexus between his current conditions and his military service. The claims are therefore denied.

The Veteran is service-connected for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic otitis externa. The Board finds that his combined disability rating of 60% renders him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation due to his service-connected disabilities.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is not etiologically related to active service, and therefore denied his claim for service connection.

The Board found no evidence of a current hearing loss disability or tinnitus that is related to service, and thus denied the Veteran's claims for service connection.

The Board found that the Veteran's current right ear hearing loss is not related to his active duty service and denied his claim of entitlement to service connection for right ear hearing loss.

The Board finds that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is likely related to service, and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including a heart disability, amoebic dysentery or Giardia dysentery, left and right ear hearing loss, hypertension, GERD, gout, degenerative joint disease of the knees, and spondylolisthesis of L4-5. The Veteran's claims were not supported by sufficient evidence to grant service connection for these conditions.

The Veteran's combined service-connected disability rating is 90%, which satisfies the percentage requirements for TDIU. However, his service-connected disabilities alone do not preclude him from engaging in substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's initial compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss was denied. The Board found that the Veteran's current level of hearing impairment did not warrant a higher rating.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus is denied as there is no current disability of hearing loss in either ear, and the evidence does not support a finding that his tinnitus was incurred during or aggravated by service.

The Veteran's claim for retroactive compensation under the Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) program is denied because there was no withholding of retired pay after May 1, 2003.

The Board found that the appellant's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were not incurred during service, as there was no evidence linking these conditions to his military service. The examiner concluded that the appellant's hearing loss was caused by his in-service noise exposure but denied service connection for tinnitus due to its onset occurring after service.

The Veteran's claims of entitlement to a compensable evaluation for his bilateral hearing loss disability and service connection for muscle and joint pains, including headaches, were denied.

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

The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was not incurred in service and may not be presumed to have had its onset in service. The VA examiner opined that it is less likely as not that the Veteran's current hearing loss is related to noise exposure from working as a jet engine mechanic during service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased evaluations were denied. The Board found that the Veteran did not have current hearing loss due to service, and his left knee and low back disabilities do not meet the criteria for a compensable evaluation prior to June 19, 2010 or an evaluation in excess of 10 percent beginning June 19, 2010.

The Board has remanded the case due to unclear speech recognition scores from a previous VA examination. The Veteran will be provided with another VA examination to clarify these scores and assess his hearing loss.

The Board found no evidence of bilateral hearing loss or tinnitus in service, and the competent and credible evidence did not establish that these conditions were incurred during active service. The Veteran's statements regarding the onset and continuity of his claimed disorders are deemed insufficient to trigger VA's duty to provide an examination.