Hearing loss decisions — 2019

The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for SMC based on aid and attendance, dismissed his claim for automobile and adaptive equipment allowance, and granted an earlier effective date of August 7, 2008 for service connection of dehiscence of superior semicircular canal (claimed as vertigo).

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus disabilities are service-connected, but remanded for further examination and opinion regarding other claimed conditions. The issues of service connection for a right and left hand disability, generalized anxiety disorder with memory loss, dizziness, and migraine headaches remain unresolved.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, diabetes, hearing loss, and tinnitus, render him unemployable. A total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is granted.

The Board has denied service connection for high cholesterol due to it not being a disability. The case is remanded for further examinations and evaluations of the Veteran's lumbar spine, recurring inverted papilloma, hypertension, and bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran's right ear hearing loss is service-connected, but his left ear hearing loss disability is not.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that his current conditions are at least as likely as not related to his military service.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus. The issue of entitlement to a higher initial rating for PTSD is remanded, as are issues related to TDIU due to service-connected disabilities.

The Board has granted the Veteran's request to reopen his claim for service connection for bilateral plantar fasciitis and denied claims for service connection for right ear hearing loss and bilateral tinnitus. The decision on these issues is pending further action.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral hearing loss and PTSD, have prevented him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation prior to February 8, 2011.

The Veteran's service connection claims for bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus have been denied as the evidence does not support a finding that these conditions are related to his military service.

The Board has determined that the VA examination conducted in January 2019 is inadequate and remanded for further development. The Veteran's right ear hearing loss disability may still be established if it is causally related to service, but the current examination did not adequately address this issue.

The Veteran's left shoulder disability is rated at 30 percent, which is the maximum rating available under VA regulations.,Prior to June 19, 2019, the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was rated at 0 percent. From that date onwards, it has been rated at 10 percent.

The Veteran's service connection claim for bilateral hearing loss is granted as the disability is presumed to have been incurred due to in-service noise exposure, with no need to consider other theories of service connection.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for a new VA examination to assess the severity of his service-connected sleep apnea. The Board finds that the evidence of record is insufficient to address the Veteran’s contention that his sleep apnea warrants higher than a 50 percent rating.

The Veteran's motion for revision of a June 18, 2018 rating decision that awarded special monthly compensation (SMC) was denied because the RO applied the correct law and facts at the time. The SMC award was based on right eye blindness with only light perception.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current symptoms are related to his military service.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is rated as noncompensable, with a puretone average of 30 decibels in the right ear and 40 decibels in the left ear. The Board found that this did not meet the criteria for a compensable rating.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are granted as service-connected, with the decision favoring the Veteran.,Service connection for PTSD with MDD is granted at a 70 percent rating.

The Veteran's initial rating for hearing loss prior to August 13, 2018 was denied as his hearing impairment did not meet the criteria for a higher rating. The rating of 30 percent assigned thereafter is also denied.