Hearing loss decisions — 2014

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, is related to his service in Vietnam. His bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are presumed to be due to acoustic trauma during service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling examinations to determine the etiology of his claimed disabilities.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's claim for service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability needs further examination and review, as the April 2010 VA audiological opinion is based on incomplete information. The case is REMANDED to allow for additional development.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss has been evaluated as noncompensable since December 11, 2006. The VA audiological examinations conducted in November 2007 and March 2011 showed mild to moderate high frequency sensorineural hearing loss with good speech recognition.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU are being remanded due to the need for additional examinations, as well as obtaining relevant VA treatment records.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to his active duty service.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not prevent him from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment.

The Board finds that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss disability had onset during active service and grants service connection for this condition.

The VA determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is not related to his military service, including noise exposure. The Board found the VA medical opinions more persuasive than the private examiner's opinion.

The Veteran's initial claim for a compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss was denied as his hearing impairment did not meet the criteria for any higher rating under VA's schedular criteria.

The Board finds that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss disability is likely due to noise exposure during service, and grants service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's death was caused by cardiac arrest due to or as a consequence of acute myocardial infarction and coronary atherosclerosis, which were related to his in-service high blood pressure readings and chest pains. The Board has granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death.

The Veteran's appeal for a compensable initial rating for his service-connected right ear hearing loss has been denied as he did not have compensable hearing loss in his right ear at any point during the period on appeal.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his military service, granting service connection for both conditions.

The Board finds that the Veteran's current bilateral sensorineural hearing loss is likely due to noise exposure during his active duty, and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and asthma, finding that there was no evidence to support a nexus between his current conditions and active duty.

The Veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for bilateral hearing loss is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including scheduling a Travel Board hearing.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, residuals of a right knee meniscal tear, left and right knee arthritis. The Veteran's eye disorder is being remanded for further examination. Service connection for hip and back disorders are also being remanded.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, diabetes mellitus (due to herbicide exposure), high blood pressure (due to diabetes mellitus), bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus were denied. The Board found that the Veteran does not have tinnitus attributable to active military service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his military service, granting service connection for both conditions.