Hearing loss decisions — 2012

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right ear hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to his military service, and thus denied these claims.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus disabilities are at least as likely as not related to military noise exposure during active and reserve service, thus granting service connection for these conditions.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional examinations to clarify the diagnosis of his vertigo symptoms and to determine the current severity of his service-connected bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is manifested by no worse than auditory acuity level I in the right ear and auditory acuity level II in the left ear, resulting in a noncompensable rating.

The Board has remanded the case due to scheduling issues for a hearing before the Travel Board. The appeal is not yet decided on its merits.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss disability, prostatitis, back disability, and residuals of right trigger finger release are not related to service. The preponderance of evidence is against these claims.

The Board found that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is not related to his active duty service.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for clarification of a private audiological examination report and a new VA examination to assess the current severity of his bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss has been reopened. The issue of secondary service connection for avascular necrosis of the right hip to lumbosacral strain with degenerative disc disease remains incomplete due to lack of clear evidence.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for additional development, including obtaining updated VA and private treatment records, scheduling a new VA examination, and providing an addendum to the September 2010 VA examiner's report.

The Veteran's appeal is for a higher rating for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss disability. The RO granted service connection and assigned an initial 0 percent (noncompensable) rating, effective December 31, 2008. However, the Veteran testified that his hearing loss has worsened since his VA compensation examination in April 2009, and submitted a private audiogram indicating more severe hearing loss. The Board is remanding the case for another VA audiological evaluation to reassess the severity of the disability.

The Board found no evidence of hearing loss or tinnitus during service, and the Veteran's current conditions are not linked to his military service. The VA examiner concluded that the Veteran's hearing loss and tinnitus are more likely due to post-service noise exposure.

The Veteran's appeal has been withdrawn, and the case is dismissed.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not currently have bilateral hearing loss disability by VA standards and therefore, service connection for this condition is denied.

The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeals of ratings in excess of 10 percent for service-connected tinnitus and acne with facial scarring, as he withdrew his appeal prior to the issuance of a decision. The claim for a compensable rating for service-connected bilateral hearing loss was not adjudicated by the Board.

The Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining his service treatment records and verifying his periods of active duty for training or inactive duty for training.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including laryngeal cancer, major depression, tension headaches, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus, are sufficiently severe to preclude him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.

The Board is remanding the case to obtain additional medical records and provide corrected notice regarding the Veteran's petition to reopen his service connection claim for hearing loss.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and depression. The decision on vertigo is pending in the REMAND portion.

The VA determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss does not warrant a compensable initial evaluation, as his audiometric results correspond to a noncompensable rating under the applicable criteria.