Hearing loss decisions — 2016

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his service, including exposure to loud noise during military training and work environments. As a result, the claims for service connection have been granted.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial compensable disability rating for bilateral hearing loss and found that new and material evidence had not been presented to reopen his claim of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD. The issue of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability is addressed in the remand portion.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's tinnitus is related to his active service, but his bilateral hearing loss disability was not incurred or aggravated therein. The claim for bilateral hearing loss disability is denied.

The Board has granted service connection for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability. The Veteran's paroxysmal atrial fibrillation is found to be related to his in-service chest pain, while the hearing loss is not considered incurred or aggravated by service.

The Board found no evidence of a hearing loss disability or tinnitus during service, and the preponderance of the evidence does not support a finding that these conditions are related to service. The Veteran's current hearing loss is considered to be a gradually developing sensorineural hearing loss with no significant in-service noise exposure.

The Veteran's claim for an initial, compensable rating for service-connected bilateral hearing loss was denied as his audiometric testing has consistently revealed no worse than Level II hearing in both ears since the effective date of service connection. The noncompensable rating assigned is based on the current level of hearing acuity.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss was denied due to the lack of reliable audiometric findings. The Board has determined that a new VA examination with an examiner who speaks Spanish is needed.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability is related to his active duty service and grants service connection for this condition. For PTSD, the Board finds that the current rating of 50 percent adequately reflects the severity of the disability as it does not meet the criteria for a higher rating under the applicable rating criteria.

The Veteran's service connection claims for bilateral hearing loss, right eye conjunctivitis and vision loss, an acquired psychiatric disorder (PTSD, depression, anxiety), and headaches have been granted. The claim for increased rating for right cornea scar has also been granted with a 10% disability rating.

The Veteran's tinnitus was granted service connection. The claims for bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, and bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy are remanded due to the need for additional development.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss disability is related to her in-service noise exposure, and service connection for this condition is granted.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was not incurred or aggravated by service, and the Board found no evidence to support a finding of service connection.

The Veteran's claim for an initial compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss prior to September 18, 2015, and in excess of 20 percent thereafter is being remanded due to the need to obtain VA audiological testing results.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including pseudofolliculitis barbae, acquired psychiatric disability, bilateral knee and hearing loss, burn scar disability, obstructive sleep apnea, TBI, high blood pressure, back disability, and tinnitus. The effective date for the grant of service connection for pseudofolliculitis barbae was not earlier than September 27, 2012.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for left ear hearing loss disability and psychiatric disability, finding no evidence linking these conditions to his military service. The claim for high blood pressure as secondary to a psychiatric disability is deferred pending resolution of the psychiatric claim.

The Veteran's appeal was denied for service connection of bilateral hip and low back conditions, as well as for an initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss. The issue of entitlement to TDIU remains pending.

The Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is related to his active duty service.

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

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining Social Security Administration records and ensuring all claims are properly addressed.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there is no evidence to support a nexus between his current hearing loss disability and in-service noise exposure.