Hearing loss decisions — 2012

The Board has reopened the claim of service connection for tinnitus and granted it, finding that new evidence supports a link between current tinnitus and the Veteran's active duty service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, sinus disorder, and skin fungus. The evidence did not meet the criteria for a current disability in any of these conditions.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and determined that new and material evidence has been submitted. The Board also found that there is a reasonable possibility of substantiating the service connection claim, as evidenced by the threshold shift at separation from active military service and the Veteran's testimony regarding continuous hearing problems since discharge.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including obtaining updated treatment records and a VA examination to assess the severity of his bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. Additionally, he may be entitled to TDIU based on his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's service-connected right ear hearing loss is currently rated as noncompensable, with puretone thresholds of 20-65 dB in the right ear. The Board finds that this rating adequately reflects his disability picture and symptomatology.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate reasons and bases for denying a compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss, requiring further consideration in accordance with the Court's instructions. The Veteran should be scheduled for a VA audiological examination.

The Board found that the Veteran's left ear hearing loss did not manifest in service and was not related to noise exposure. As a result, service connection for this disability is denied.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a compensable rating on an extraschedular basis for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss, finding that the evidence did not present an exceptional disability picture warranting such a rating.

The Veteran's increased rating claim for bilateral sensorineural hearing loss was denied as his disability did not warrant a higher than 30 percent rating. The TDIU issue is also addressed and the RO/AMC should obtain recent VA outpatient treatment records from September 2010 to the present.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining service treatment records and scheduling VA examinations to address his claims of hearing loss, tinnitus, and urinary disability.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus was denied as the evidence did not show a current disability due to in-service noise exposure.

The Board denied a higher rating for the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss, finding that his current 40 percent rating is appropriate based on the results of recent audiometric evaluations.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability was rated as noncompensable prior to June 2, 2010 and in excess of 20 percent from that date. The Board found the evidence did not meet the criteria for increased ratings.

The Veteran's claim for a total rating based on unemployability due to service-connected disabilities is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining information from his most recent employer and scheduling VA examinations.

The Board has determined that further development is needed to determine the impact of the Veteran's service-connected disabilities on his employability, and has therefore remanded the case for additional examination and readjudication.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss disability is the result of his active duty for training, and service connection is granted.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to outstanding VA treatment records and the need for additional examinations.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus did not manifest during service or within one year thereafter, and there is no credible evidence of continuity of symptomatology. The VA examiner concluded that it was less likely than not that the current hearing loss and tinnitus were related to in-service acoustic trauma.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his in-service noise exposure, resulting in a grant of service connection for these conditions.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus are being remanded due to the need for additional development of his medical records.