Hearing loss decisions — 2016

The Veteran's left ear hearing loss and tinnitus are service-connected, while his PTSD is rated at 30 percent. The Board granted the Veteran's claims for service connection but denied his requests for increased evaluations.

The Board finds that the evidence is at least in equipoise on whether the Veteran's tinnitus is related to his service, and grants service connection for tinnitus.

The Veteran's right ear hearing loss is found to be at least as likely as not related to active service, and the claim for service connection for this condition is granted. The claims for bilateral eye disability and right knee disability are remanded for further examination.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including new VA examinations of his hearing loss and lumbar spine disability. The case will be reviewed by the RO after this development.

The Veteran's tinnitus is found to be related to his military service, and the claim for service connection for tinnitus is granted. The issue of service connection for bilateral hearing loss was withdrawn by the Veteran prior to a decision being made.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current tinnitus cannot be reasonably disassociated from his active military service and grants entitlement to service connection for tinnitus.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss as secondary to his service-connected TMJ.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to his failure to attend a previously scheduled videoconference hearing. He will be given another opportunity for a hearing before the Board.

The Veteran's claim for increased ratings for bilateral hearing loss remains under consideration, with the AOJ seeking additional evidence and conducting further development before reaching a final decision.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and recurrent tinnitus are service-connected as they are related to his active military service.

The Veteran's claim of service connection for left ear hearing loss has been denied as there is no evidence of a current disability during the appeal period.

The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 60 percent for bilateral hearing loss from August 25, 2010 to January 3, 2014 was denied as there were no audiometric results showing greater than level XI hearing loss.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current disability of bilateral hearing loss or Grave's disease that is related to service. The evidence shows no in-service onset and no nexus between any current disabilities and service.

The Veteran's GERD is secondary to his service-connected lumbar strain condition.,A VA examination was conducted, and the examiner concluded that the Veteran's tinnitus is less likely than not related to service.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability is manifested by no more than Level III hearing impairment in the right ear and Level II hearing impairment in the left ear, according to VA rating criteria. The Board finds that this does not meet the criteria for a compensable rating.

The Veteran's appeal has been withdrawn by his representative, leaving no issues for the Board to review.

The Board has remanded the case due to a failure to schedule the Veteran for a Board hearing by live videoconference.

The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss did not have its onset in active service and is not causally connected to his military service, thus denying his claim for service connection.

The Veteran was granted service connection for hepatitis C and an acquired psychiatric disorder (Major depressive disorder with polysubstance dependence and substance induced mood disorder), but denied service connection for a throat disability and bilateral hearing loss disability.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss disability is not related to his in-service noise exposure and therefore denied his claim for service connection.