Hearing loss decisions — 2020

The Veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for bilateral hearing loss has been denied, and his claim for service connection for Meniere's Disease is remanded due to insufficient examination findings.

The Veteran's TDIU claim is granted as he has been rendered unable to secure and maintain substantially gainful employment due to his service-connected disabilities. The Veteran also withdrew his increased rating for PTSD, and the Board does not have jurisdiction over the sleep apnea issue.

The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for left foot hammertoe and bilateral hearing loss.,For left foot hammertoe, a compensable rating is granted.

The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss, gouty arthritis of the right ankle and bilateral first metatarsophalangeal joints, lumbar spine disability, and bilateral plantar spurs is being remanded due to inadequate examination reports. The VA will schedule new examinations to determine the current severity of these conditions.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining medical opinions and records.

The Board has granted service connection for right ear hearing loss. The remaining claims of entitlement to service connection for neck rash, chronic fatigue, chronic joint pain, and headaches are remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to insufficient opinions in the VA examination reports. The claims will be further evaluated with additional evidence and an addendum opinion.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of right ear hearing loss for VA purposes, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development and consideration. Specifically, they need to obtain a legible copy of the December 2019 private audiology examination report and clarification from the audiologist on whether the Maryland CNC word list was used for the word recognition scores. They also need to complete VA Form 21-8940 and request completed VA Form 21-4192s.

The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection of heart disorder, hypertension, ulcers, and bilateral hearing loss due to the Veteran's death.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is related to his in-service noise exposure and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board denied service connection for Meniere's syndrome, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus as the evidence did not establish a nexus to active military service.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss has been manifested by hearing acuity of no worse than Level V in the right ear and no worse than Level IV in the left ear. The preponderance of the evidence does not support entitlement to a rating greater than 10 percent for his bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran's effective date for additional compensation based on his spouse is denied as he did not receive a combined disability rating of at least 30% until February 19, 2018.

The Board denied a compensable rating for the Veteran's service-connected hearing loss, finding that the evidence did not support such a rating at any point during the appellate period.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss has been rated as zero percent disabling, which is the lowest possible rating. The Board found that his hearing acuity did not meet criteria for a higher rating.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate compliance with a previous remand, and another medical opinion is needed regarding whether the Veteran's left ear hearing loss is caused or aggravated by his service-connected right ear hearing loss and/or tinnitus.

The Board has remanded the cases for a new examination to determine if hearing loss and tinnitus are related to service, including noise exposure.

The Board has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's service connection claims due to additional evidence being added to the record.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss, finding that it began during active service due to acoustic trauma from working around loud aircraft.