Hearing loss decisions — 2014

The Board has remanded the case due to improper notification of a scheduled hearing, and the Veteran did not appear at his January 2014 hearing. The case is now being returned for rescheduling the hearing and providing proper notice.

The Veteran's appeal has been withdrawn, and his case is dismissed.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a VA audiological examination to assess the current severity of his service-connected bilateral hearing loss.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, finding that it is likely due to noise exposure during his military service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability, hepatitis A, and hepatitis B due to a lack of a Statement of the Case (SOC).

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus due to incomplete records and need for further examination.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a heart disorder, to include as due to in-service herbicide exposure, is granted on a presumptive basis. The other claims are pending further development and review.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to his military service, as there is no evidence of in-service noise exposure or onset of symptoms during the first postservice year. The VA examiner found that any current hearing loss and tinnitus are less likely due to acoustic trauma in service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are likely related to his period of active service, granting his claims for these conditions.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate VA opinions regarding whether the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is related to in-service noise exposure. The claim will be reviewed again with a new opinion from a VA examiner.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected right ear hearing loss and bilateral hearing loss prior to July 22, 2011, and from that date were denied. The Board found no evidence of exceptional or unusual disability picture warranting extraschedular consideration.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current right ear hearing loss disability, and thus service connection for this condition is denied. The claim for bilateral hearing loss is granted as it meets the criteria for service connection.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is likely related to his military service, and the Board has granted service connection for this condition. The increased rating claims for small fiber neuropathy are remanded.

The Board found that the Veteran did not incur bilateral hearing loss during or as a result of service and his lay assertions regarding continuity of symptomatology for bilateral hearing loss are not credible.

The Board found that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to his military service, as evidenced by normal hearing during service and no significant threshold shift noted on any of the four exams. The VA examiners concluded that the Veteran's hearing loss is less likely than not caused by acoustic trauma in service.

The Veteran's left ear hearing loss disability was evaluated, but did not meet the criteria for a compensable rating based on audiometric test results. The Board found that the Veteran's pure tone thresholds and speech discrimination scores were consistent with noncompensable ratings under VA regulations.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is manifested by pure tone threshold averages and speech recognition scores that correspond to no more than a level 'I' hearing on the right and level 'II' hearing on the left, resulting in a rating of 0 percent. The claim for an increased rating for hearing loss is denied.

The Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is related to military service, and the Board finds in favor of granting service connection for this condition.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, as new and material evidence has been submitted. The claims are granted to this extent.

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