Hearing loss decisions — 2012

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for left ankle disability, bilateral hearing loss disability, diabetes mellitus, and heart condition. The appeals were based on direct service connection.

The Board has granted service connection for a left ankle disability, including residuals of a left Achilles injury. The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability and skin disability of the feet are also granted.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss does not warrant a compensable rating at any point during the appeal period.

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 noise exposure during active duty. The conditions are also not presumed due to a disease associated with military service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for hypertension, increased ratings for residuals of right ankle injury and myositis, and an earlier effective date for a rating increase were denied. The Veteran is not entitled to an earlier effective date than March 21, 2002, for the award of a 10 percent disability rating for his service-connected residuals of right ankle injury.

The Board has determined that a remand is necessary due to the Veteran's failure to appear at his scheduled Travel Board hearing. The case will be returned for scheduling a local hearing before a hearing officer at the RO.

The Veteran's service-connected hearing loss is being remanded for further development due to conflicting medical opinions and the need for additional evidence.

The Board finds that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are due to noise exposure during his active service in Vietnam. As such, these conditions have been granted as service-connected.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for a VA examination to determine if his preexisting bilateral hearing loss was aggravated by service, and to obtain additional treatment records from 2000 to present.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss due to new and material evidence. However, it is less likely than not that his current hearing loss is related to military service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus did not begin during or as a result of his military service, including any noise exposure therein.

The Board found that the Veteran's pre-existing bilateral hearing loss was permanently aggravated during his period of active service, and granted service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining updated VA and private treatment records, arranging for a VA examination to assess the severity of his left ear hearing loss disability, and providing an opinion on whether his hypertension is secondary to service-connected PTSD. The examiner must also determine if his sinusitis is related to exposure to Agent Orange during service.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current disabilities are related to his military service.,Service connection was denied for a skin disorder secondary to Agent Orange exposure.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to service, and therefore grants these claims. The new evidence submitted since the last denial raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claims for right and left knee disorders.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to allow for further development of the record, including obtaining updated VA treatment records and a VA examination to assess his service-connected PTSD and bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for a TDIU as they are not severe enough to prevent him from engaging in substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss was denied in a February 1996 rating decision. The case is being remanded to the RO due to failure to consider new evidence received after the initial rating decision and inadequate VA examinations.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were not incurred or aggravated by service, nor can they be presumed to have been so incurred. The evidence does not support a finding of in-service exposure to noise or other causative factors.

The Veteran's service connection claims for PTSD, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, skin cancer, impaired glucose tolerance and/or diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and back injury were all granted. The Veteran was assigned a 100% disability rating for PTSD from November 26, 2007 to January 26, 2009, and a greater than 50% rating thereafter.