Hearing loss decisions — 2018

The Veteran's left ear hearing loss was not incurred in or aggravated by service, and the Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence is against his claim for service connection.

The Board has denied service connection for right ear hearing loss and the lumbar spine condition. The Veteran's right ear hearing loss was not found to meet VA criteria for a disability, while his lumbar spine condition is denied as there is no evidence of in-service injury or aggravation.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for an initial rating in excess of 20 percent for diabetes mellitus and a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss.

The Board finds that the evidence is in equipoise as to whether the Veteran's tinnitus is due to acoustic trauma sustained during service. As such, the claim for service connection for tinnitus is granted.

The Veteran's tinnitus is found to be related to his service, but he does not have a current bilateral hearing loss disability that meets VA criteria for a disability.

The Board finds that the Veteran does not have a current disability of hearing loss for VA purposes, and therefore, his claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied.

The Board found that the RO did not address or apply the standard of clear and unmistakable error in its severance of the Veteran's service connection for hearing loss and tinnitus, thus finding the severance improper.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are found to be related to his active duty service, with doubt resolved in favor of the Veteran.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied as his September 2007 VA Form 10-10EZ does not constitute a formal or informal claim for service connection.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including verification of his military service and obtaining medical records. He also needs a VA examination to assess the severity of his bilateral hearing loss and right knee disorder.

The Board has remanded the case for further development and readjudication of the issues listed, including consideration of new evidence. The Veteran is also advised to submit a timely substantive appeal if he wishes to perfect his appeal on any of these issues.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was incurred in or aggravated by active duty military service, and thus granted service connection for this condition.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for heart disorder, residuals of a stroke, skin disorder, bladder cancer, and back disorder due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Board found that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss disability is not related to his military service, as there was no evidence of a threshold shift during service and the preponderance of the evidence does not support a nexus between the Veteran's military service and his current condition.

The Veteran's left ear hearing loss disability was initially rated as 0 percent prior to September 4, 2014 and remained at that rating from September 4, 2014. The Board denied the claim for a higher rating.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss began in and has persisted since active service, granting his claim for service connection.

The Board found that the Veteran's appeal was not timely filed as his VA Form 9, Appeal to Board of Veterans' Appeals, was received more than 60 days after the December 2013 SOC and within one year from the June 2012 decision.

The Veteran's appeal for an initial compensable rating for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss has been withdrawn, resulting in the dismissal of this matter.

The Veteran's claim to reopen his right ear sensorineural hearing loss was denied due to lack of new and material evidence. The left ear sensorineural hearing loss claim is being remanded for further evaluation.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that these conditions are related to his in-service exposure to significant acoustic trauma from shooting rifles. The claim of new and material evidence to reopen a previously denied claim of service connection for bilateral hearing loss is also granted.