Hearing loss decisions — 2018

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence and need for additional medical opinions. The issues include mental health disorders, sleep apnea, headaches, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, back disorder, right leg disorder, left leg disorder, kidney cancer, and erectile dysfunction.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability, finding that it is attributable to noise exposure during his military service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and sleep apnea with CPAP, finding no current disability or evidence of in-service incurrence or aggravation.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss has been rated as noncompensable throughout the appeal period, with pure tone thresholds and speech recognition scores indicating no more than a mild to moderate impairment in both ears.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence of a hearing loss disability and its etiology, requiring further examination.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the current disabilities are at least as likely as not related to acoustic trauma during active duty.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is related to his service, and therefore grants service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus have been granted. The claim of reopening his service connection for sinusitis has also been granted, but the issue of compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for TIA or cerebrovascular accident with memory loss due to hypertension medication is still pending.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss was evaluated as noncompensable, with the average pure tone threshold being 48.75 decibels in both ears and speech recognition ability of 96 percent in each ear.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected right ear hearing loss is remanded due to the need for further evidence and a new examination.

The Veteran's right ear hearing loss is not service-connected.,Left ear hearing loss has been rated as Level VI, the highest non-compensable rating available.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of hypertension, and thus service connection for this condition is denied. The issues of entitlement to service connection for right ear hearing loss, left ear hearing loss, left thumb disability, and left knee disability are remanded due to lack of recent VA examination records.

The Board has remanded the claims for a right knee disability, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, seizure disorder, and depression due to incomplete records. The Veteran is advised to obtain new representation if desired.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and TBI have been reopened, with the claim for allergic rhinitis with epistaxis being denied.,Service connection has been granted for migraine and post-concussion traumatic headaches.

The claim of service connection for bilateral hearing loss is reopened, and the case is remanded to determine if it is related to in-service noise exposure. The claim for service connection for tinnitus (including as secondary to BHL) is also remanded.

The Veteran's service-connected hearing loss disability is found to be the primary reason for his inability to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation, thus warranting a TDIU.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are at least as likely as not related to his in-service exposure to loud noises without adequate protection.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection for various conditions have been dismissed due to his withdrawal of the appeal.

The Veteran's service connection claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus have been denied. The claim for depressive disorder has been granted.,Service connection is established for a depressive disorder, as it is aggravated by the Veteran’s service-connected bilateral foot disabilities.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that the evidence did not show a nexus to service and that there was no evidence of continuity of symptoms since separation from service.