Hearing loss decisions — 2013

The Board has received notification of the appellant's withdrawal of all remaining claims, including service connection for residuals of a spinal injury, cataracts, and hearing loss.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection were denied. The Veteran's hearing loss disability was not rated higher than non-compensable prior to September 25, 2012, and in excess of 30 percent thereafter. His coronary artery disease, hypertension, and erectile dysfunction were not found to be related to his military service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to his active duty service, and therefore denied these claims.

The Board has reopened the claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, but remands them for additional development. The claim of service connection for a psychiatric disorder (including depression) is denied.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinion in the November 2007 VA examination report. The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is being returned to the RO/AMC for additional development.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development to determine his employability due to service-connected disabilities, including PTSD and prostate cancer.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and asthma due to incomplete examination reports and lack of consideration of certain evidence. The AOJ must ensure that all opinions comply with this request and any additional notification or development deemed warranted.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim of service connection for left ear hearing loss, finding that it did not pre-exist his first period of active duty and was not aggravated during his second period of active duty. The evidence showed no in-service injury or disease related to this condition.

The Board finds that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is due to active service and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and service personnel records, as well as VA examinations for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, a lumbar spine disability, and an eye disability. The Veteran's claims for service connection are pending.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for lymphadenopathy, adenopathy, and atrophy of the right inguinal lymph node and left ear hearing loss have been denied as there is no evidence that his conditions meet the criteria for a compensable rating under VA regulations.

The Veteran's service-connected right ear hearing loss is granted with a compensable evaluation of 10%.

The Board has determined that right ear hearing loss was not incurred in or aggravated by active military service and is denied.

The evidence does not support a compensable evaluation for the Veteran's service-connected right ear hearing loss.

The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were not related to his military service, as there was no evidence of in-service noise exposure or hearing impairment. The claims are therefore denied.

The Veteran's claims for a disability rating in excess of 20 percent for service-connected type II diabetes mellitus, service connection for a skin rash of the legs and groin, service connection for a prostate disorder, and service connection for hypertension have been denied. The claim for total disability benefits for individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities is pending.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss is manifested by no more than Level II hearing acuity in the right ear and Level I hearing acuity in the left ear, resulting in a noncompensable disability rating. The Board finds that an initial compensable disability rating for this condition has not been met or approximated.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including scheduling of VA examinations to determine the nature and etiology of his hearing loss, otitis media, left ear, and tinnitus. The dates of service are also to be confirmed.

The Veteran's hearing loss disability was evaluated as zero percent disabling, and no higher rating is warranted based on the provided audiometric test results.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional VA examination and treatment records, particularly those from prior to November 2012.