Hearing loss decisions — 2014

The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed due to his death. The issues of service connection for tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss have not been decided.

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

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional medical examinations and opinions regarding the Veteran's right ear hearing loss and dizziness.

The Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are being remanded due to the need for clarification regarding the relationship between his current conditions and service. The VA examiner will be asked to convert the enlistment and separation pure tone thresholds from ASA units to ISO (ANSI) units.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the etiology of current left ear disabilities, including hearing loss and fungal infection. The Veteran's claims for service connection are pending.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss was denied as there is no evidence of a current disability meeting the criteria set forth in VA regulations. The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected eye disability (meibomian gland dysfunction with associated eye styes and dry eye syndrome) was also denied.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was evaluated and found to be at Level X in the right ear and Level XI in the left ear, resulting in a 90% evaluation. The criteria for an increased rating were not met.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed conditions, including right ear hearing loss, left ear hearing loss (sensorineural), and tinnitus, were not incurred or aggravated by service. The evidence does not support a finding of in-service incurrence or aggravation for any of these conditions.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for bilateral hearing loss was denied as his audiometric testing results did not meet the criteria for a compensable evaluation.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not prevent him from securing or following substantially gainful employment.