Hearing loss decisions — 2020

The Veteran's lumbar strain disability is being remanded for further examination and rating. Other service connection claims are also being remanded due to the need for additional examinations.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities, finding that his service-connected conditions alone do not render him unable to maintain substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including coronary artery disease, PTSD, tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss, and left foot stress fracture, have rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment. The Board finds that the evidence is in equipoise on whether he is unemployable due to these conditions.

The Veteran's initial disability rating for his acquired psychiatric disorder is denied, and the claims for increased ratings for left shoulder disability, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, GIST, and GERD are all denied. The claim to reopen service connection for a left elbow and bilateral hand disorder was granted due to new evidence.

The Board has found that there was not substantial compliance with the previous remand directives regarding the Veteran's right-ear-hearing-loss issue on appeal, and thus another remand is required.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss is being remanded for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of his disability.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to his service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, hearing loss, and tinnitus. The evidence does not support a finding that these conditions alone preclude him from securing or maintaining substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's appeal for an initial compensable rating for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss was denied, and the issue of service connection for a left knee disability is remanded.

The Veteran's claims for a compensable disability rating for service-connected right ear hearing loss and entitlement to service connection for left ear hearing loss are being remanded due to the failure of the Veteran to report for scheduled VA examinations.

The Veteran's claims for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss and TDIU are being remanded due to incomplete audiometric records. The VA needs to obtain the complete audiometric testing results, including individual decibel levels at each frequency, from all relevant tests during the appeal period.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability has been rated at 50 percent, the maximum schedular rating available under Diagnostic Code 6100. The Board finds that the evidence does not support a higher rating.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is currently rated as noncompensable, and the Board finds no evidence to warrant a higher rating.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is not related to his active military service, including in-service noise exposure. The evidence does not support a finding of service connection for this condition.

The Board has granted service connection for asthma and bilateral hearing loss, with effective dates of March 3, 2011. The decision is based on the Veteran's in-service noise exposure.

The Veteran's TDIU claim was granted since November 1, 2012, as his service-connected disabilities resulted in a combined rating of at least 70 percent and he was unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment due to PTSD.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's claims for an initial compensable disability rating for bilateral hearing loss and service connection for hypertension (HTN), to include as due to herbicide exposure, need further examination and evaluation.

The Board has remanded the claims of bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to a failure to report for a VA examination. The Veteran's service connection claim is being returned for further development.

The Board denied service connection for a back disability and found no entitlement to an increased rating for bilateral hearing loss, as the evidence did not support a direct relationship between the disabilities and service.

The Board has remanded the case due to missing service treatment records and requests an addendum opinion regarding whether the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is consistent with his in-service noise exposure.