Hearing loss decisions — 2015

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim of service connection for a right ear hearing loss disability. However, the Veteran's current right ear hearing loss is not considered to have increased in severity during his active military service, thus failing to establish service connection through aggravation.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and GERD are all found to be related to his service. Service connection is granted for these conditions.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection on multiple conditions was denied. The Board found that hyperlipidemia, a laboratory test result, is not a disability under VA law and therefore cannot be granted.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to his military service, thus denying his claims for service connection.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss was denied as there is no evidence of a current disability meeting VA criteria. The claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include Major Depressive Disorder and PTSD, remains pending.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and arranging for a new VA examination to determine the current severity of his service-connected left ear hearing loss disability. The issue of entitlement to a temporary total evaluation for convalescence following treatment of a service-connected disability must also be addressed.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to service, but not due to noise exposure. The Veteran's current hearing loss is less likely than not caused by military service.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is related to his military service, and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.

The Board found that the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea is not related to service or secondary to his service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The claims for a rash, right ear hearing loss, and left ear hearing loss are remanded for additional examination and opinion.

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

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for TDIU, finding that his service-connected disabilities did not prevent him from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment. The case was remanded to consider whether he is unemployable due to his service-connected conditions on an extraschedular basis.

The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed as he indicated satisfaction with the rating assigned for his hearing loss.

The Veteran has appealed the effective dates for various ratings, but not all issues have been timely appealed. The appeal is mixed as some issues are granted and others are denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's appeal for increased evaluations for his bilateral knee disabilities, PTSD, hearing loss, and tinnitus have been withdrawn. The Veteran's service-connected left and right knee disabilities are currently evaluated as 20 percent disabling based on instability under Diagnostic Code 5257. Separate 10 percent evaluations are assigned for each knee due to arthritis with painful motion.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right plantar fasciitis, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus are related to service. The right knee disability is not shown to be related to service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss pre-existed his service and was not aggravated by it. As a result, the claim for service connection is denied.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for right ear hearing loss and increased ratings for left ear hearing loss and PTSD have been denied. The Board found no evidence of a current disability in the right ear, and only Level I hearing acuity in the left ear, which does not warrant a compensable rating.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss disability is currently evaluated as noncompensable, and the evidence does not support a higher evaluation.

The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed because he died during the pendency of his appeal, and therefore the Board does not have jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of the claim.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss disability is not related to his service or a service-connected TBI, and thus denied the claim for service connection.