Hearing loss decisions — 2015

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining service treatment records and verifying claimed medical treatment. The Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, foot disability, eye disability, and back disability will be reconsidered after all requested development is completed.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability has been rated at 80 percent since February 26, 2014. The VA audiological examination showed significant impairment in both ears.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation for the period of March 31, 2011 through December 10, 2014.

The Board has remanded the case due to missing documents and incomplete information regarding the Veteran's service records. The Veteran's hearing loss is being requested to be evaluated again for a determination of whether it is related to his military service.

The Veteran's tinnitus was incurred in service and is granted.,Bilateral hearing loss was also found to be incurred in service.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. The Veteran asserts that his current hearing loss is related to in-service acoustic trauma, but a VA audiologist determined it was less likely related to service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection for a left knee disorder and bilateral hearing loss, as well as his claim for an initial rating in excess of 20 percent for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, have been denied. The Veteran was not provided with new and material evidence to reopen his left knee disorder claim.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the claim of service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The Veteran's military noise exposure during service is considered, along with his testimony regarding the continuity of his hearing loss symptoms since soon after service, resulting in a finding of service connection.

The Board finds that the Veteran's current right ear hearing loss disability is not shown to have been present in service or for many years thereafter, nor is it shown to be related to his military service. The preponderance of evidence is against the claim.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was rated at 30 percent since December 23, 2014. His left inguinal hernia disability was also rated at 10 percent since January 11, 2013.

The Board has determined that it is not factually ascertainable prior to January 4, 2008, that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities alone rendered him unable to work and thus an effective date earlier than January 4, 2008 for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disability on an extraschedular basis cannot be assigned.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability is currently rated as noncompensable, with no significant effects on employment. The most recent VA examination found the Veteran to have Level II hearing impairment in both ears.

The Veteran's appeal for an initial rating greater than 30 percent for PTSD was denied. The Board found that the Veteran's PTSD primarily manifested by depressed mood, anxiety, panic attacks (weekly or less often), and chronic sleep impairment; it did not more nearly approximate occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that the Veteran's current hearing loss is related to his active duty service. The issue of entitlement to TDIU remains remanded.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus have rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment, but the Board has not found sufficient evidence for a TDIU on an extraschedular basis.

The Board has determined that a disability rating in excess of 10 percent was not warranted prior to September 6, 2012, and in excess of 20 percent on or after that date for the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not show objective symptoms warranting a rating in excess of 50 percent for his acquired psychiatric disorder, nor did it show other deficiencies in most areas such as work, school, family relationships, judgment, thinking or mood.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right ear hearing loss and a higher initial rating for residuals of stroke. The Veteran is not entitled to compensation for right ear hearing loss as it does not meet the criteria for a disability under VA regulations, and his claim for a higher initial rating for stroke must be remanded due to procedural issues.

The Veteran's claimed disabilities (brain tumor, left eye disability, and left ear hearing loss) were not incurred in or aggravated by his military service. The evidence does not support a finding that these conditions are related to his active duty.

The Veteran withdrew his appeals for the issues of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, peripheral neuropathy of the left upper extremity, and peripheral neuropathy of the right upper extremity.