Hearing loss decisions — 2012

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment, and therefore he is not entitled to a TDIU.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain additional medical records and an addendum VA medical opinion regarding his hearing loss claim.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, when considered as one disability due to common etiology from in-service noise exposure, meet the minimum percent evaluation requirement for a TDIU since December 11, 2008. He is deemed unemployable by reason of his service-connected disabilities.

The Board finds that the Veteran's tinnitus is at least as likely as not caused by noise exposure during service, and grants service connection for this condition. The claim of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and a right knee and leg disorder to include osteoporosis remains pending.

The Board found that the cause of death, anoxic brain injury due to hypotension and bradycardia, was not caused or contributed substantially or materially by any service-connected disability. The Veteran's service-connected PTSD, lumbosacral spine disability, tinnitus, hypertension, and bilateral hearing loss were deemed insufficient to contribute to his death.

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

The Veteran's service-connected conditions do not render him unemployable due to substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities (bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and otitis media) have rendered him unemployable due to his inability to hear within the range of a normal conversation level, localize sounds, and function well on the phone. The Board finds that with reasonable doubt resolved in favor of the Veteran, he is entitled to a TDIU.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that the Veteran did not have a disability level of 10% or more at any time since service and that his hearing loss was not caused by an in-service event.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from finding or maintaining substantially gainful employment.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current hearing loss disability under VA standards, and thus service connection for bilateral sensorineural hearing loss cannot be established.

The Board found that the evidence added to the record since the final rating decisions does not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claims for hearing loss, diabetes mellitus as a result of exposure to herbicides, rosacea and actinic keratosis (claimed as a skin disorder) as a result of exposure to herbicides, hypertension, or anxiety, panic attacks, and depression.

The Board has remanded the case for a Travel Board hearing before the RO, as the VLJ who presided at the May 2011 hearing is no longer employed.

The Veteran's PTSD and frostbite residuals are associated solely with his second, dishonorable period of service. Bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were not incurred in or otherwise related to active military service.

The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were not incurred in or aggravated by service, as there was no evidence of current disabilities meeting VA criteria for a disability. The noise exposure during service is conceded but does not establish service connection due to lack of continuity of symptomatology.

The Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus are being remanded due to insufficient evidence, including the need for further VA examination.

The Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including an audiological examination.

The Board has found that service connection for tinnitus is warranted, and the issue of bilateral hearing loss disability will be remanded for further development.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability and hypertension have been granted service connection, with a 10% rating for hypertension effective January 9, 2008.

The Board has determined that the VA examination report is inadequate to address the issue of direct service connection due to incomplete findings during the October 2009 VA audiology examination. The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss must be remanded for a new VA examination.