Hearing loss decisions — 2020

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and bilateral pes planus. The evidence does not support a finding that any of these conditions began during active duty or are otherwise related to in-service noise exposure.

The Board denied service connection for a left knee disability and bilateral hearing loss, but granted service connection for bilateral tinnitus.,Service connection was not established for the left knee disability or bilateral hearing loss due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to service. However, the Veteran's current diagnosis of bilateral tinnitus is supported by his lay statements regarding symptoms experienced during service.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings for his left and right knee disabilities, as well as bilateral hearing loss, were denied. He was granted separate 10% ratings for each knee under Diagnostic Code 5257 effective January 7, 2019.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not establish that he had diabetes at any time during or approximate to the pendency of his claim. For eligibility for specially adapted housing and special home adaptation grant due to glaucoma (legal blindness), the Veteran was granted eligibility.

The Veteran's death was not caused by any service-connected disability, and the issue of whether R. is a helpless child of the Veteran who was permanently incapable of self-support prior to attaining 18 years old is moot due to the denial of service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus and remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss and skin rash.

The Veteran's hearing loss in the left ear was rated as noncompensable from May 28, 2010 to April 17, 2016.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for the cause of death, DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1151, and burial benefits at the service-connected rate due to a lack of evidence showing that his death was caused by VA medical treatment or negligence.

The Board has remanded the case due to a missing audiogram from March 2, 2016. The claim for hearing loss ratings is now pending and will be reconsidered.

The Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is related to service, and the Board has granted his claim for service connection.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the conditions are related to active service due to noise exposure.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is rated at 10 percent prior to December 12, 2019 and at 30 percent from that date onwards.

Service connection is granted for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.,The claim of service connection for psoriasis with psoriatic arthritis remains pending as it was remanded.

The Board has granted effective dates of July 24, 2015 for the service connection awards of bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial compensable disability evaluation for bilateral hearing loss, finding that the preponderance of the evidence did not support such a rating based on consistent audiometric findings over time.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's PTSD claim due to an inadequate VA examination. The other claims for right ear hearing loss, left ear hearing loss, tinnitus, and right hip disability are denied.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied because he does not meet the statutory criteria for a diagnosis of hearing loss for VA purposes.

The Veteran's appeal for increased rating of allergic rhinitis was denied. The Board also remanded the issues of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and a bilateral knee disability due to incomplete examinations.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development and examination to determine if the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his service in the National Guard.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for left ear hearing loss and left knee condition due to insufficient medical opinions. The Veteran is presumed to have suffered from these conditions since service.