Hearing loss decisions — 2017

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus disabilities are related to his active service, including exposure to acoustic trauma during his military service in Vietnam.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has not been received to reopen the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability, thus denying the reopening of the claim.

The Veteran's PTSD is found to be related to his service, and the claim for service connection is granted. The issues of entitlement to a compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss disability, service connection for skin cancer due to herbicide exposure, and hypertension due to herbicide exposure are remanded for further development.

The Board denied the Veteran's petitions to reopen his claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus, finding that no new and material evidence had been received.

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

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bruxism, increased ratings for heart disease and bilateral hearing loss, and PTSD. The decision found that bruxism is not a compensable disability, while the heart condition was rated at 30 percent, which is consistent with the current level of impairment. Bilateral hearing loss did not meet criteria for higher ratings under VA rating schedules.

The Board finds that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss disability is due to in-service noise exposure and grants service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not service-connected as they did not manifest during active duty or due to in-service noise exposure. The Veteran's prostate cancer is not service-connected as there is no evidence of herbicide agent exposure, and his urinary disorder is not service-connected as it is not linked to the service-connected prostate cancer.,The Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, prostate cancer, and a urinary disorder are all denied.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss has been rated at 70 percent since January 20, 2011. The Board finds that the evidence does not support a higher rating during this period.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is currently rated at 20 percent, the maximum rating available under VA regulations. The Board finds that his current level of disability does not warrant a higher rating.

The Veteran's left ear hearing loss is found to be caused by in-service noise exposure and service connection for this condition is granted. The issue of an initial compensable rating for right ear hearing loss remains on appeal, as does the claim for a low back disorder.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss is currently rated at 10 percent disabling since April 26, 2011. The Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted as the evidence does not show that his hearing impairment warrants a rating in excess of 10 percent.

The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to the Veteran's failure to attend scheduled VA examinations. The case is now pending and will be returned to the Board after further adjudication.

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

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

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for a TDIU on either a schedular or extraschedular basis, as his combined rating is less than 70% and he does not have one disability rated at least 60%. The Veteran's inability to work is attributed to nonservice-connected hydrocephalus.

The Veteran's hearing loss and tinnitus have been granted service connection, with a rating of 10 percent.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss does not warrant a compensable rating under VA's disability evaluation criteria.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his military service, with onset during active duty. Therefore, the claims for service connection have been granted.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that there was no evidence showing these conditions were incurred in or caused by his military service.