Hearing loss decisions — 2013

The Board has determined that further development is needed to determine the etiology of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD. The case is therefore REMANDED for these purposes.

The Board has remanded the case due to deficiencies in VA examinations and outstanding treatment records. The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and gastrointestinal disability will be reconsidered.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to his active duty service. The evidence does not show any complaints, diagnoses, or treatment for these conditions during service, and there is no competent medical opinion linking them to service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is as likely as not incurred during his military service, and thus grants service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining updated medical records and scheduling VA examinations to assess his PTSD and bilateral hearing loss.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's pre-existing conditions were aggravated by noise exposure during service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is being remanded due to the need for a new VA examination and additional development of the record.

The Board has determined that a new examination is needed to determine if the Veteran's current hearing loss and tinnitus are related to service, including in-service noise exposure.

The Board finds that the Veteran does not have tinnitus as a result of his active service. The evidence fails to establish an in-service onset or continuity of symptoms, and the Veteran's statements are not credible given his history of filing claims for other disabilities without mentioning tinnitus.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and pulmonary fibrosis were denied as there was no evidence of a current disability or a link to his military service. The cause of death, pulmonary fibrosis, was also not found to be related to the Veteran's active service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling a new VA examination.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability has been manifested at worst as Level II hearing loss in the right ear and Level IV hearing loss in the left ear, with speech recognition scores of 88 percent and 78 percent, respectively. The criteria for a compensable disability rating are not met.

The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to his military service, as there is no evidence of a current disability within one year after separation from service or during service. The VA examiner concluded that the Veteran's hearing loss and tinnitus were less likely than not caused by noise exposure in service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining missing service treatment records and scheduling a VA examination.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including left shoulder strain, lumbar disc disease, L5-S1 radiculopathy of the left lower extremity, and other conditions, are found to preclude him from securing and following substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for further development, including obtaining clarification on the Maryland CNC test from a private audiologist and adjudicating his claim for a higher rating for anxiety disorder. His TDIU claim will also be considered.

The Board found no evidence of a nexus between the Veteran's current low back and right knee disabilities and his service or any service-connected disability. The claims for bilateral hearing loss are addressed in the REMAND portion.

The Board has determined that further development is needed to determine the etiology of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD. The case is therefore REMANDED for these purposes.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss does not warrant a compensable disability evaluation.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for left ear hearing loss and tinnitus have been denied as there is no evidence of current disability meeting VA criteria or a causal relationship to in-service noise exposure.