Hearing loss decisions — 2018

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development to obtain clarification on the dates of his Reserve service and to provide addendum opinions regarding the etiology of his bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, diabetes mellitus, and frostbite residuals.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was rated at 10 percent prior to August 19, 2014 and has been rated at 20 percent from August 19, 2014 to January 22, 2015. Since then, the rating is back down to 10 percent.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus disabilities are related to in-service acoustic trauma, with aggravation during service.,Service connection is granted for bilateral hearing loss due to preexisting left ear hearing loss disability aggravated by service. Service connection is also granted for tinnitus.

The Board has remanded the case due to outstanding service treatment records and the need for additional medical opinions regarding the appellant's claimed conditions.

The Board has restored the Veteran's 10 percent rating for bilateral hearing loss, effective September 1, 2014. The reduction from a higher rating to noncompensable was found to be improper due to procedural errors.

An initial rating of 70 percent for PTSD from August 9, 2010 is granted.,Service connection for left ear hearing loss and tinnitus is denied.

The Board has remanded the claims due to outstanding VA treatment records and will consider additional evidence.

The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss did not manifest during or as a result of active military service and denied both his claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 and his claim for service connection.

The Board has remanded the case due to potential unavailability of service treatment records from a period of active duty for training (ACDUTRA) or inactive duty for training (INACDUTRA). The Veteran is asked to provide information about any such periods and VA will attempt to obtain relevant records.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss has not met the criteria for a compensable disability rating at any point during the appeal period.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of left ear hearing loss, fatigue disorder, intestinal condition, hiatal hernia, or psychiatric disorder other than PTSD. As such, service connection for these conditions is denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current lumbar spine, cervical spine, and bilateral upper extremity peripheral neuropathy disabilities are at least as likely as not related to his military service. The issues of entitlement to service connection for right elbow disability, left elbow disability, and hearing loss have been remanded due to ambiguity in the evidence.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, but finds that there is no current disability for VA purposes. The claim for bilateral hearing loss was denied as the Veteran does not have a current hearing loss disability for VA compensation purposes. The claim for tinnitus was found to be related to service.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed before the claims for service connection for right and left knee disabilities, as well as bilateral hearing loss disability can be decided. The Veteran will need to undergo a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of his knee and hearing loss conditions.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus disabilities are related to his military service, granting service connection for both conditions.

The Board has determined that the VA audiological examination and medical opinion are inadequate for ratings purposes, and thus the Veteran's claims must be remanded to obtain a new VA audiological examination.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and residuals of bilateral perforated ear drums are related to his service, including exposure to loud noise and injury from a Claymore mine explosion. As such, these conditions have been granted service connection.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are found to be related to service, with the Board granting service connection for both conditions.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his in-service noise exposure, and thus service connection is granted.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is being remanded due to inadequate consideration of his entire history of noise exposure during National Guard service, including periods of active duty and ACDUTRA.