Hearing loss decisions — 2019

The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, an acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD), and hypertension as secondary to an acquired psychiatric disorder due to potential in-service noise exposure and fear of hostile military activity during combat service.

The Veteran's initial claim for an initial compensable evaluation for right ear hearing loss has been denied as his current evaluations are noncompensable.

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

The Veteran's tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss are found to be related to service, leading to a grant of service connection for both conditions.

The Board dismissed the claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD and for an initial increased rating for bilateral hearing loss. The Veteran's claim for service connection was rendered moot due to a grant of service connection in August 2019. The hearing loss claim remains before the Board but does not warrant a higher than 50% rating.

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

The Veteran's hypertension and bilateral hearing loss are granted as service-connected. The Veteran is also remanded for a new VA examination to determine the current severity of his bilateral hearing loss.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection for right knee disability and bilateral hearing loss due to insufficient medical evidence on file. The Veteran will be provided with a VA examination to determine if his current disabilities are related to his military service.

The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to obtain a new VA examination for the Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss disability due to an increase in pure tone decibel loss since his last examination.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss have been denied. The maximum schedular rating of 10 percent has already been assigned for both conditions.

The Veteran's service connection claim for degenerative joint disease (DJD) with deformity and Heberden’s node of the distal right index finger is granted. The issue of an initial compensable disability rating for bilateral hearing loss is remanded, as well as the issue of service connection for lumbar degenerative changes and muscle spasms.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the etiology of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability. The Veteran needs to provide authorization for VA to obtain his private treatment records and updated VA records.

The Board has determined that additional evidence was added to the record after certification of the issues on appeal to the Board. Therefore, a remand is required to consider this new evidence and provide updated evaluations for the Veteran's low back disability and left ear hearing loss.

The Board has been notified of the appellant's request to withdraw their appeal, and thus the case is dismissed.

The Veteran's application to reopen a previously denied claim for service connection for right ear hearing loss was denied. The Board also determined that the Veteran's left ear hearing loss did not warrant an initial compensable disability rating.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for asbestosis was denied because there is no current diagnosis of the condition.,For bilateral hearing loss, a rating in excess of 40 percent prior to August 31, 2016 and above 70 percent after that date were also denied.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are due to in-service acoustic trauma and continuous symptoms since service separation. The decision is based on presumptive service connection under 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(b).

The Board has dismissed the appeal of a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss. Service connection is granted for hypertension and erectile dysfunction as secondary to service-connected low back disability. The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for spondylolisthesis, radiculopathy, sciatica, nonservice-connected pension, and TDIU are remanded.

Your claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus have been dismissed because the Veteran did not file a valid Notice of Disagreement (NOD) as required by VA regulations.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current disabilities and service.