Hearing loss decisions — 2013

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is being remanded due to the need for further evidentiary development, including verification of her dates of service and obtaining VA treatment records.

The Board finds that the evidence is in equipoise on whether the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is related to acoustic trauma he experienced during active military service, and grants service connection for this condition.

The Veteran was granted service connection for various disabilities, but only received noncompensable ratings.,A 10 percent initial rating was assigned for hemorrhoids.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for bilateral hearing loss has been withdrawn.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, left knee disorder, and left shoulder disorder. The evidence does not show a current disability that is related to active duty.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to procedural issues with the ratings for seborrheic dermatitis and actinic keratosis. The case will be returned to the Board after issuance of a statement of the case.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability has been rated as noncompensable (0%) throughout the appeal period. The VA determined that his current level of hearing impairment does not warrant a compensable evaluation.

The Board found that the Veteran's right ear hearing loss was not incurred in or aggravated by service, as there was no evidence of a chronic condition during service and no showing of continuity of symptomatology after service.

The Veteran is entitled to a TDIU for the period from December 15, 2009 through July 30, 2013 due to his service-connected disabilities preventing him from securing and following substantially gainful employment.

The Board found no evidence of a left ear hearing loss disability during service and concluded that the Veteran's current left ear hearing loss is not related to his military service.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss due to new and material evidence. However, both claims for service connection for tinnitus and hearing loss have been denied as there is no medical evidence linking these conditions to military service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings, reopening of service connection claims, and service connection for various conditions. The decision is final on all issues except those related to reopening of previously denied claims.

The Board found that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss was not related to his service, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is related to his active service, and thus grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and granted it, finding that new evidence received since the July 2005 rating decision is sufficient to establish a current disability and linking it to service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a review of the service treatment records and an addendum opinion from the February 2010 VA examiner regarding the relationship between his bilateral hearing loss and military noise exposure.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus is being remanded due to inadequacies in the examination and opinion provided by VA. The case will be returned to the RO for further development.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for a Board videoconference hearing at the San Juan RO.

The Board has remanded the case to obtain a new VA audiological examination and provide an opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's hearing loss. The issues of entitlement to service connection for right ear hearing loss and entitlement to an initial compensable rating for left ear hearing loss are also being remanded.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss does not warrant a compensable rating at any time since the award of service connection based on the standard rating criteria. Therefore, his initial rating claim for an initial compensable rating is denied.