Hearing loss decisions — 2019

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are related to his exposure to acoustic trauma during service. Service connection for left eye blindness was denied as it is not rated higher than 30 percent due to anatomical presence of the eye.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's right ear hearing loss disability, finding that it was incurred in and related to his active duty service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is a result of exposure to acoustic trauma during service, and thus grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed for the Veteran's claims of bilateral hearing loss and a right ring and middle finger disorder, including obtaining medical records and conducting VA examinations.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that the Veteran's current hearing impairment is at least as likely as not related to noise exposure during his active duty. Service connection for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was denied due to lack of evidence linking the condition to asbestos or other exposures in service.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for anxiety disorder, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus. The claim for an effective date prior to August 18, 2015 for bronchial asthma is also remanded.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that reasonable doubt is resolved in favor of the Veteran due to credible evidence linking his current conditions to noise exposure during service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, lumbar spine disorder, bilateral eye disorder, neck disorder, and left shoulder disorder. The evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred or aggravated by military service.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for right ear hearing loss and for an increased rating for left ear hearing loss due to insufficient evidence regarding their etiology.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for lumbar strain, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and bilateral hearing loss as they have not been evaluated in over five years and the Veteran testified that his conditions have worsened. The Veteran will be scheduled for VA examinations to assess the current severity of these disabilities.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and PTSD have been granted service connection, with a disability rating of 70 percent for PTSD. The effective date is not specified.

The Board has decided that a new VA examination is needed to assess the current severity of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development and an examination to determine if the Veteran's right ear hearing loss disability and tinnitus are related to his military service.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is rated as noncompensable, with the worst level being Level V in the left ear and Level I in the right ear. The Board denied an increased rating for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran's claim for a compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss is remanded due to the absence of records from an examination by K.F. in December 2018.

The Veteran's service-connected hearing loss and tinnitus do not prevent him from obtaining and retaining substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's skin cancer is denied as not related to service, including exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.,His bilateral sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) does not warrant a compensable rating on a schedular basis and the Board finds no exceptional circumstances warranting an extraschedular evaluation.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's service connection claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not established, as there is no evidence of a link between his current conditions and in-service noise exposure.,Regarding the psychiatric disorder claim, the Board has remanded it to allow further development.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's sleep apnea is secondary to his service-connected asthma. The Veteran will need a medical opinion on this issue.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for his bilateral hearing loss is denied as the evidence does not support a higher rating than the current 20 percent assigned since April 16, 2014.