Hearing loss decisions — 2012

The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss did not have onset in service or within one year of service and was not caused by or otherwise related to his active service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current right ear hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his military service, but there is insufficient evidence to determine if his left ear hearing loss is related to service. The case is remanded for a VA examination to assess whether the Veteran meets the criteria for left ear hearing loss.

The Veteran's right ear hearing loss prior to April 13, 2007 did not meet the criteria for a compensable disability rating.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus were denied as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions are related to his military service.

The Board found that the Veteran's current left ear hearing loss disability is not related to her service, and thus denied her claim for service connection.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is found to be causally related to noise exposure during his military service, warranting service connection.

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

The Veteran's claim for service connection for hearing loss in his left ear was denied as there is no competent and credible evidence supporting the assertion that he has a current ratable disability affecting either ear, let alone one related to military service.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including a VA audiology examination to assess the current nature and extent of his service-connected bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran's appeal is about his service-connected bilateral hearing loss, seeking higher initial disability ratings and an earlier effective date for the 30 percent rating.

The Board denied the Veteran's application to reopen his claims for service connection for hearing loss and tinnitus because he failed to submit new and material evidence.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability does not meet or approximate the criteria for a higher evaluation, and thus the claim is denied.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to the RO for scheduling a Travel Board hearing. The issues of service connection are not addressed as they have been referred back to the RO.

The Board found that the Veteran's service-connected conditions did not cause or contribute substantially to his death from congestive heart failure.

The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for bilateral hearing loss prior to October 21, 2009 was denied as his disability did not meet the criteria for a higher rating based on the audiometric test results.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss has been evaluated as noncompensable since its initial grant. The VA and private audiometric evaluations have consistently shown no worse than Level II hearing acuity in both ears, which corresponds to a noncompensable rating under the applicable VA rating criteria.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss was denied as he failed to report for a scheduled VA examination without good cause.

Service connection for PTSD, hearing loss, and tinnitus has been granted effective December 5, 2005.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right ear hearing loss is caused by noise exposure during his military service and grants service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA medical records and conducting new examinations to assess her service-connected ear infections and hearing loss disabilities.