Hearing loss decisions — 2018

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for a VA examination to determine if his vertigo is related to his service-connected bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, or if it was aggravated by these conditions.

The Board has denied service connection for arthritis, prostate cancer, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus due to lack of evidence supporting a current disability or a link to service. The claims are being remanded for further development.

The Board has determined that the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether the Veteran's tinnitus is etiologically related to his in-service hazardous noise exposure. Service connection for tinnitus is granted.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for various conditions, including lumbar spondylolisthesis, refractive error (now claimed as blurry vision), bilateral hearing loss, high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus type 2, and a right eye injury. The evidence did not establish a link between these conditions and active service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability is related to his in-service noise exposure and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has determined that there is not enough evidence to support a finding of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, recurrent urinary tract infection, left hip disability, right hip disability, right knee disability, hand pain (claimed as cyst on the hand), back disability, shin splints, or skin rashes on the arm. The claims are being remanded for further examination and opinion.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to new evidence submitted since the last final denial. However, the claims are still remanded as a VA examination is needed to determine if his current hearing loss and tinnitus are related to in-service noise exposure.

The Board has remanded the cases for further examination and opinion regarding service connection for left ear hearing loss and right ear hearing loss. The examiner is asked to determine if these conditions are related to military service, considering factors like noise exposure and pre-existing conditions.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss, deviated septum, and depression. The claims are being returned to the RO for further development and consideration.

The Board has granted service connection for right ear hearing loss, sudden right ear sensorineural hearing loss, and tinnitus. The case is remanded to determine the nature of the Veteran's labyrinthitis (including vertigo and Meniere’s disease) and left ear hearing loss.

The Board has determined that additional development is necessary to address the Veteran's claims for service connection and initial evaluation of his various conditions, including PTSD, bilateral hearing loss, COPD, hypertension, prostate disorder, type II diabetes mellitus, diabetic neuropathy, and anxiety disorder NOS.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for right ankle disability, left ear hearing loss, and psychiatric disability (including PTSD) due to the need for further medical examination.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is not related to his military service, but needs further examination and opinion due to recent research on delayed onset hearing loss.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for a kidney disability and denied all other issues on appeal. The Veteran's current kidney disability is not related to his military service.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is deemed to have been incurred in and due to his time in service, and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, as well as the issue of a rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD. These matters need to be addressed again due to incomplete or unclear information.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, finding that the veteran's current condition is at least as likely as not related to his military service. However, the claim for bilateral hearing loss was denied because there is no evidence of a current disability.

The Veteran's appeal of the increased rating claim for a heart disability is dismissed. Service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are granted.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a VA examination to determine if the Veteran's asthma is related to his service. The other issues remain pending.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, an acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD and depression), and a traumatic brain injury have been denied. The Board found no new and material evidence to reopen the claims for bilateral hearing loss and an acquired psychiatric disorder. For the claim of service connection for a traumatic brain injury, the Board determined that there was insufficient credible evidence to support the Veteran's contention of a head injury during basic training.