Hearing loss decisions — 2012

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, low back disorder, hypertension, and tinnitus due to lack of current disabilities. The claim for residuals of exposure to hydrazine was also denied as there were no current residual effects.

The Board found no evidence linking the Veteran's current hearing loss and tinnitus to his active duty service, thus denying these claims.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete records and further development is needed.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, finding that the Veteran currently experiences this condition and there is competent evidence linking it to his military service. Service connection for bilateral hearing loss and epididymitis/inclusion cyst of the right testicle was denied due to lack of current disability under VA regulations.

The Veteran seeks service connection for right and left ear hearing loss disabilities, as well as a skin disability. The Board finds that additional development is needed to determine the etiology of these conditions.

The Veteran's claim for increased ratings for bilateral hearing loss is being remanded due to the need to obtain additional VA treatment records and provide further development.

The Board finds that there is no current disability for VA purposes due to the Veteran's right ear hearing loss, as his pure tone thresholds do not meet the criteria of a hearing loss for VA purposes under 38 C.F.R. § 3.385.

The Board found that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss disability was not incurred in or aggravated by service and may not be presumed to have been incurred in service. Therefore, service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability will be denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's migraine headaches, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus are related to service. The claims for these conditions have been granted.

The Veteran's initial claim for increased ratings for bilateral hearing loss and kidney stones was granted, with the rating for bilateral hearing loss being increased to 30 percent effective February 5, 2010. The issue of service connection for a back disability remains unresolved.

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

The Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were denied as there is no evidence of a current disability, and the medical opinions provided do not support a connection to service.,The November 2007 VA examination was inadequate for purposes of determining service connection.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss has been clinically shown to be manifested by no worse than Level II hearing in both ears. The criteria for entitlement to a compensable initial rating have not been met.

The Veteran's tinnitus was found to have its onset during active military service, and his right wrist and hand disabilities are linked to injury sustained in service. The hearing loss claim is denied as the Veteran does not meet the criteria for a bilateral hearing impairment.

The Veteran's tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss disability, and residuals of right ankle strain have been granted. The tinnitus is service-connected as secondary to her service-connected hearing loss. The Veteran was awarded a noncompensable rating for her bilateral hearing loss disability and a 10% rating for her residuals of right ankle strain.

The Veteran's hearing loss disability was not found to be incurred or aggravated by active service.,However, the VA examiner opined that tinnitus is related to his military noise exposure.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for a more contemporaneous VA audiological examination and for records from an August 2011 VA audiology consultation report. The Veteran also testified that he was scheduled for an audiological evaluation in two weeks at the Ann Arbor VA Medical Center.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's tinnitus is not etiologically related to his military service and therefore denied his claim for service connection. The issue of bilateral hearing loss was withdrawn by the Veteran prior to a decision being made.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, right leg and ankle disability, and left leg and ankle disability as the Veteran was not on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty for training at the time of the motor vehicle accident. The conditions are therefore not considered to be incurred in or aggravated by service.