Hearing loss decisions — 2017

The Board finds that the evidence is in equipoise on whether the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his service, including noise exposure during combat. Therefore, service connection for these conditions is granted.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for right ear hearing loss, sleep impairment, and memory loss have been denied. The Board has also determined that new and material evidence has not been received to reopen the claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, heart disability, or hypertension.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's claims for higher initial ratings for right total knee replacement and service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a grant of an increased rating or service connection.

The Board finds that the Veteran's currently diagnosed bilateral hearing loss is etiologically related to his inservice acoustic trauma, and thus grants service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss have been granted service connection as they are found to be related to his military service.

The Veteran requested withdrawal of their appeals regarding earlier effective dates for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus. The Board has dismissed the appeals as a result.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including coronary artery disease, PTSD with alcohol dependence, and peripheral vascular disease, render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Veteran's service-connected PTSD is found to have caused his death. Effective dates for the awards of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and a residual scar are denied.

The Veteran's tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss disabilities are currently rated at the maximum schedular rating of 10 percent. The Board finds no legal basis for a higher rating.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability is manifested by no worse than Level I hearing acuity in the right ear and Level VIII hearing acuity in the left ear, resulting in a noncompensable disability rating under Diagnostic Code 6100. The Board found that the available schedular ratings adequately capture the Veteran's level of disability.

The Veteran's hearing loss is currently rated as noncompensable, and the Board finds no basis to grant higher ratings.

The Veteran is not shown by the record evidence to have been unable to obtain or maintain substantially gainful occupation as a result of service-connected disabilities.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a left ear hearing loss disability and low back disability, finding that new and material evidence was not received to reopen these claims.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's hypertension, heart disability, and bilateral hearing loss did not arise in service or are otherwise etiologically related to his active duty service. The claims for these conditions have been denied.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that his hearing loss did not begin during or as a result of military service.

The Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss disability is found to be related to his in-service noise exposure, and the Board grants service connection for this condition.

The Board denied the Veteran's petition to reopen his claim of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and denied his increased rating claims for lumbar spine degenerative joint disease. The TDIU claim was also denied as the Veteran failed to complete required VA development.

The Veteran's TBI and its residuals, including headaches, memory loss, sleep disturbance, and inability to concentrate, were proximately caused by VA carelessness or negligence in October 2005. The event was not reasonably foreseeable.

The Veteran's hearing impairment has been rated as noncompensable throughout the initial rating period, with a finding that it does not meet the criteria for any higher evaluation.