Hearing loss decisions — 2014

The Board has determined that the Veteran's left knee disorder is not related to service and denied his claim. The issue of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss was remanded but remains pending.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are causally related to his acoustic trauma in service, granting service connection for these conditions.

The Veteran's right ear hearing loss is not related to service, including as a residual of a shrapnel wound. The left kidney disability (Renal cell carcinoma) is not presumed to be related to herbicide exposure in service and is not otherwise related to service.,Service connection has already been granted for pain associated with the shrapnel wound. There is no dispute of law or fact as to this issue.

The Board found that the Veteran's hearing loss was a preexisting condition noted at entry into service and not aggravated by military service, thus denying his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is found to be due to service exposure, and he is granted service connection. The PTSD rating remains at 50% as it does not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation. The diabetes mellitus rating remains at 20%.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining his VA treatment records and scheduling him for a VA audiological and podiatry examination to determine the etiology of his claimed disabilities.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has not been received to reopen the Veteran's claim of service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability, as his pre-existing hearing loss was not aggravated by military noise exposure.

The Board found that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus disabilities are not related to his military service, including acoustic trauma from weaponry while serving in Vietnam. The VA examination report concluded that these conditions were not caused by or a result of military noise exposure.

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

The Veteran's claims for right ear hearing loss, lumbar strain with thoracolumbar degenerative joint and disc disease, and left ear hearing loss have been denied. The Veteran does not meet the criteria for a current disability involving right ear hearing loss or left ear hearing loss. For lumbar strain, the Veteran has forward flexion of his thoracolumbar spine greater than 30 degrees; however, he has spinal ankylosis and is prescribed bed rest by a physician for relief of his back problems.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus have been remanded due to the need to obtain additional evidence, including VA audiological treatment records and occupational noise exposure records. The case will be further reviewed after these records are obtained.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is found to be at least as likely as not related to his in-service acoustic trauma, and the Board grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his in-service acoustic trauma exposure, and thus service connection is granted.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current right ear hearing loss disability as defined by VA regulations, and thus service connection for this condition cannot be granted.

The Veteran's right ear hearing loss disability has been evaluated as noncompensable throughout the appeal period. The Board finds that his auditory thresholds and speech discrimination results do not warrant a compensable evaluation at any time during this period.

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

The Veteran's hearing loss has been manifested by numeric designations no greater than Level II for the right ear and no greater than Level I for the left ear, resulting in a finding of no entitlement to a compensable disability rating.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal on the issues of entitlement to an increased rating for hypertension with renal insufficiency, bilateral hearing loss, and diabetes mellitus type II.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings are denied. The Board finds that the evidence does not support a higher rating or an earlier effective date for his right lower extremity radiculopathy.

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