Hearing loss decisions — 2020

The Veteran's claims of service connection for tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss, and PTSD have been granted. The Veteran is now rated at 70% for PTSD.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied as he does not meet the criteria for a current disability under VA regulations.

The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, bilateral hearing loss disability, and tinnitus. The issues of service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus are remanded.

The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service connected. The decision on bilateral hearing loss remains pending and remanded.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for hypertension, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus due to lack of new and material evidence for hypertension, absence of a current disability for hearing loss, and no causal link between tinnitus and military noise exposure.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD with situational phobia, tinnitus, and bilateral hearing loss, have rendered her unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation. The Board has granted a TDIU rating.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is rated as noncompensable, and his DDD of the cervical spine is rated at 30 percent prior to May 31, 2019, and at a maximum of 30 percent thereafter. The appeals for increased ratings are denied.

The Veteran's application to reopen claims for service connection for a right hand disability, left hand disability, bilateral hearing loss disability, and tinnitus has been granted.,Service connection is being remanded for the right hand disability, left hand disability, and bilateral hearing loss disability.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD has been reopened and granted. Service connection is also granted for an acquired psychiatric disorder secondary to his service-connected tinnitus. The issues of new and material evidence for hearing loss, back condition, bilateral knee condition, head trauma and scarring, and vision problem are remanded.

The Board denied an initial compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss (BLHL) as the evidence did not support a higher rating.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, but denied service connection for a skin disability. The Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is considered to be causally related to his active duty, while the evidence does not support a finding of a current skin disability that began during service.

The Board has denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, sleep apnea, hearing loss, and tinnitus. The issues of service connection for these conditions are remanded due to the need for further development.

The Board has denied service connection for a neck disability, but granted service connection for low back, right knee, and right ankle disabilities. Service connection was also denied for bilateral hearing loss and thyroid disorder.,Service connection is granted for the Veteran's low back disability, with reasonable doubt favoring the claim.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, prostate cancer and CAD (claimed as secondary to herbicide agent exposure), a sleep disability, and bilateral hearing loss due to the need for VA examinations.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to potential herbicide exposure in Korea. The Veteran is also denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for right ear hearing loss, left ankle disability, painful joints disability, GERD, brain tumor, and penile disabilities due to insufficient evidence in some cases.

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

The appeal of a March 2017 rating decision that denied a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is dismissed. The issue of entitlement to a higher rating for coronary artery disease with a fistula is remanded.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is related to his military service, specifically noise exposure during active duty. As a result, the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is granted.

The Veteran's service-connected PTSD has precluded him from securing and following any substantially gainful occupation since January 22, 2015. The Board granted a TDIU based on the PTSD disability. Additionally, the Veteran is entitled to SMC at the housebound rate due to his combined 100 percent schedular rating for service-connected disabilities.