Hearing loss decisions — 2020

The Veteran's petition to reopen his previously denied claim for service connection of bilateral hearing loss was granted. The issue of a compensable disability rating for the left knee scar, post-cyst removal, is still pending and remains denied. The Veteran's claim to reopen his previously denied claim for service connection of bilateral hearing loss has been successful.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the receipt of additional VA treatment records and examination reports. The AOJ will consider all evidence in the first instance before readjudicating the claims.

The Board has determined that the evidence is not in favor of service connection for a back disability, right knee disability, bilateral eye condition, bilateral hearing loss disability, or tinnitus.,VA will need to obtain additional medical records and possibly conduct further examinations to determine if there are any connections between the appellant's current disabilities and his military service.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the Veteran's claimed conditions.

The Board has granted service connection for right hip disorder, left hip disorder, and bilateral hearing loss. The Veteran's hip disorders are deemed to be directly related to his military service, while the hearing loss is rated as noncompensable under VA rating criteria.

The Veteran seeks increased ratings for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, but the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.,Service connection for ischemic heart disease was denied as there is no evidence of its occurrence during service or continuity of symptomatology.

The Board has granted a TDIU on an extraschedular basis as of February 8, 2007 due to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities making it impossible for him to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining an adequate opinion regarding the etiology of his brain disorder.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for TDIU due to service-connected disabilities, finding that his employment history and medical evidence did not support a conclusion that he was unemployable.

The Board has remanded the claim for further development due to incomplete information regarding the Veteran's education and work experience, particularly during the period relevant to the TDIU claim. The appellant is asked to provide a detailed statement of the Veteran’s business activities and income from these activities in each year between 2008 and 2014.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been granted. The right knee pain and acquired psychiatric condition are related to her service-connected back, left knee, and right hip disabilities. Tinnitus is presumed due to in-service noise exposure. Bilateral hearing loss has not been established as a disability.

The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is denied as his hearing acuity does not meet the criteria for any higher rating.

The Veteran's claim for an increased disability rating for bilateral hearing loss was denied as the audiometric evaluations did not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation.

The Veteran's initial compensable rating for left ear hearing loss is denied.,Heart disability, hypertension, prostate disability (status-post surgery), and diabetes mellitus are all remanded for further development.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for prostate cancer residuals is denied as the evidence does not show that he requires an appliance or absorbent materials requiring change more than four times per day.,The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are remanded due to inadequate examination findings.

The Board has determined that a new VA examination is needed for the Veteran's right ear hearing loss, left ear hearing loss, migraine headaches, and acquired psychiatric disorder due to complaints of worsening symptoms since her last examinations. The appeal will be remanded for these purposes.

The Board has granted service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability, finding that it is related to the Veteran's service-connected tinnitus.

The Veteran's initial claim for an increased disability rating for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss was denied. The Board found that the Veteran did not meet the criteria for a compensable rating prior to January 18, 2020 and a rating in excess of 10 percent from that date.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's service connection claim for a bilateral hearing loss disability is not fully informed and requires additional medical opinion to determine if it is related to his active service.

The Veteran's claims for increased PTSD rating and TDIU are being remanded due to the need to obtain SSA disability records, which may be relevant to his mental health condition and employment status.