Hearing loss decisions — 2016

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and shoulder disabilities are all found to be related to his active service. The right ear hearing loss is determined to have been aggravated by service, while the left ear hearing loss is presumed to have been caused by service. Tinnitus is also found to be related to service. For the shoulders, it is established that they were caused by service.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, and the Board has granted entitlement to TDIU.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current diagnoses are related to in-service noise exposure. Service connection for a kidney condition is also granted based on herbicide exposure during service.

The Veteran's PTSD has been rated at 70 percent, but the Board finds that there is not such an approximate balance of the positive evidence and negative evidence to permit a more favorable determination. The Veteran's TDIU claim was denied as his service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from substantially gainful employment.

The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to obtain additional medical opinions regarding the Veteran's neck disability and bilateral hearing loss, as well as to schedule new VA examinations for these conditions. The appeal will be returned to the Board after further development.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back condition is etiologically related to service, and therefore grants service connection for this condition.,Regarding bilateral hearing loss, the evidence does not support a finding of in-service incurrence or a nexus to service.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and finds that new and material evidence has been received. The Board also finds that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is related to his military service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining medical records and an addendum opinion from a VA examiner.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions were not caused by in-service noise exposure.

The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss did not warrant a compensable rating under VA disability evaluation criteria, as his audiometric results consistently showed Level I hearing in both ears.

The Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are being remanded due to inadequate VCAA notice, lack of a VA examination, and other procedural issues.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's pre-existing hearing loss was aggravated by military service. The claim will be readjudicated based on this additional information.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for an opinion from his treating audiologist regarding his right ear hearing loss.

The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss did not warrant a compensable rating, as his puretone thresholds and speech discrimination scores did not meet the criteria for any higher evaluation.

The Veteran's sleep apnea disability is found to have developed during service and the Board grants service connection for this condition.

The Board found that right ear hearing loss was not evident during service or until many years thereafter and is not shown to have been caused by any in-service event. The claim for service connection for right ear hearing loss, for substitution purposes, is denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus do not meet the criteria for an extraschedular rating, as their combined effects are adequately captured by the current schedular evaluations.

The Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is not service-connected as it was not incurred or aggravated during his military service, and there is no evidence of a nexus between the condition and service.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss is rated as noncompensable, and the Board finds that a compensable rating is not warranted.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for left ear hearing loss and an initial compensable rating for right ear hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current hearing loss disabilities and his military service.