Hearing loss decisions — 2019

The Veteran's appeal for a higher initial rating for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss is being remanded due to the need for audiograms and an examination. The current rating of noncompensable prior to October 14, 2016, and 10 percent thereafter remains unchanged.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient rationale in the VA examiner's opinion regarding the Veteran's right ear hearing loss and left ear hearing loss for VA purposes.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the current disabilities are directly related to in-service noise exposure. The decision is based on direct service connection under 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d).

The Veteran's claim of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus has been reopened due to the submission of new evidence. However, both conditions are denied as there is no evidence showing they were incurred or aggravated by military service.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss is currently rated at 20 percent, and the Board finds that his condition does not warrant a higher rating based on the audiometric test results provided.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was evaluated and found to be 44 average pure tone decibel hearing loss in the right ear and 54 average pure tone decibel hearing loss in the left ear. The VA determined that this did not meet the criteria for a compensable rating.

The Board has granted service connection for diabetes mellitus, ischemic heart disease, and bilateral lower extremity diabetic neuropathy. The appeal regarding prostate cancer and hearing loss is remanded.

The Veteran's TDIU claim is denied as he has secured and follows a substantially gainful occupation.

The Board has remanded several claims for further development due to the need to obtain precise dates of service and determine if there is any change in previous examination conclusions based on these dates. The Veteran's claims include bilateral leg pain, cervical spine disorder, bilateral hearing loss, type II diabetes mellitus, and hypertension.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that these conditions are related to noise exposure during his military service.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to issues with service connection for left arm tremors. The claims of bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus have been denied.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation, warranting a TDIU.

The Board has granted service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability, finding that the Veteran's current hearing loss cannot be satisfactorily disassociated from his in-service noise exposure and service-connected tinnitus.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings and service connection have been dismissed due to his death.

The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and denied an increased rating for hepatitis C. For the former, it was found that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss meets VA criteria for a disability and is presumed to have been incurred in service due to noise exposure during military service. For the latter, the evidence did not meet the criteria for a 60% or higher rating as required by Diagnostic Code 7354.

The Board has granted the petition to reopen the previously denied claim of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss, and remanded the issue for further development.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to a lack of sufficient evidence regarding the etiology of these conditions. The Veteran's active duty service included infantry training, but his current hearing loss and tinnitus are not definitively linked to in-service noise exposure.

The Board denied service connection for a right knee disorder and bilateral hearing loss, finding that the evidence did not support a nexus between these conditions and active duty service.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that there is at least a reasonable possibility of a nexus between these conditions and his military noise exposure.

The Board denied the Veteran's request to restore a 10% rating for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was improvement in speech recognition scores and thus the reduction from 10% to 0% was proper.