Hearing loss decisions — 2017

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to in-service acoustic trauma, resolving reasonable doubt in his favor.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his active duty service, with resolution of reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.

The Board has decided to remand the case for further development and consideration of the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, so the claim is dismissed.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran did not have chronic symptoms of hearing loss in service or continuous symptoms after service separation. The evidence did not establish a nexus between current hearing loss and in-service noise exposure.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claims to reopen for service connection for tinnitus and right ear hearing loss. The claim of service connection for tinnitus is now substantiated by new evidence showing that his tinnitus began in service and persists, while the claim of service connection for right ear hearing loss will be remanded for further development.

The Board has remanded the claims due to the need for additional development, including obtaining VA and private treatment records.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss warrants a compensable evaluation of 40 percent from June 27, 2011 to August 27, 2013.

The Veteran withdrew his appeals regarding the effective dates for service connection of tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and reopened the claim of entitlement to service connection for tinnitus. The Veteran's reports of in-service noise exposure are consistent with his service, and the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether both disorders are related to service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not service connected as they did not manifest during or within one year after service separation, and there is no evidence of in-service noise exposure. The preponderance of the evidence does not support a nexus between the current disabilities and active service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including obtaining VA treatment records and workers compensation records. The case will be re-adjudicated after the additional development.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss disability is due to exposure to loud noise during service, and his symptoms have been continuous since service separation. As such, the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is granted.

The Veteran's service connection claim for bilateral hearing loss is granted as his current hearing loss can be linked to combat exposure during active duty.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus did not originate during service, were not shown to be related to in-service noise exposure, and therefore denied both claims for service connection.

The Veteran's claim of service connection for bilateral hearing loss is being remanded due to the inadequacy of the October 2012 VA examination and the need for a new opinion regarding the etiology of his current hearing loss.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination for his bilateral hearing loss and issuance of a Statement of the Case regarding the issues of reopening his enlarged prostate claim and service connection for PTSD.

The Board found that the appellant's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus disabilities are rated appropriately at their maximum schedular ratings, thus denying any higher initial ratings.

The Board has determined that the VA examination is inadequate and remands the case for a new examination to address whether the Veteran's hearing loss and tinnitus are delayed responses to in-service noise exposure.

The Veteran's claims for increased evaluation and service connection have been remanded.,His claims for reopening of service connection for migraine headaches and bilateral hearing loss were granted.