Hearing loss decisions — 2020

The Veteran's claim for service connection for hearing loss is denied as there is no evidence of a current disability.,Service connection for left shoulder disability is denied due to lack of in-service injury or disease and the absence of continuity of symptomatology since separation from service.

The Board denied the claim for a TDIU prior to April 29, 2013, finding that the Veteran did not meet the schedular rating criteria and his service-connected disabilities were not shown to preclude him from obtaining or maintaining substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's hypertension with renal dysfunction, PTSD, and bilateral hearing loss have been restored to their original ratings of 80%, 70%, and 30% respectively.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that the Veteran's symptoms of hearing impairment started during his active duty and have continued since then. The decision is based on the Veteran's credible statements of continuing symptoms and the lack of an adequate negative nexus opinion.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the evidence did not support a link to service.

The Board has granted a 40 percent disability rating for the Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss disability as of November 20, 2019. Prior to this date, the disability was rated at 20 percent from July 15, 2019 to November 19, 2019 and at 10 percent prior to that.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including depressive disorder and degenerative disc syndrome, have rendered him unable to obtain or maintain substantially gainful employment. The Board has granted a TDIU based on the combined effect of these conditions.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional medical records and examination, particularly regarding his left wrist disability. The increased evaluation claim for bilateral hearing loss remains pending.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's left ear hearing loss disability is not related to his military service and denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was evaluated as noncompensable, and the appeal for a higher rating is denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right ear hearing loss does not meet the criteria for a disability under VA regulations, and therefore service connection is denied.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss as the evidence did not show a nexus to in-service noise exposure and there was no continuity of symptoms from service.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, but dismissed the appeal for service connection of residuals of a broken nose due to a prior grant in an earlier rating decision.

The Board has remanded the claims of entitlement to service connection for right ear hearing loss and tinnitus due to insufficient rationale in the previous VA examination opinion. The Veteran's left ear hearing loss is denied.

The Veteran's appeal for an initial compensable rating for service-connected bilateral hearing loss was denied as the evidence did not show that his hearing impairment warranted a higher disability rating.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional examinations and interviews, as well as further development of his claims.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's right ear hearing loss, finding that it had its onset during service and is related to his military noise exposure. The April 2015 VA examiner's opinion was found to be based on inaccurate facts and thus not probative.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal for an increased evaluation of bilateral hearing loss, effective immediately.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss was denied as the audiometric testing showed that his hearing loss is no worse than Level XI in the right ear and Level I in the left ear, which corresponds to a 20 percent disability rating.

The Veteran's appeal for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss prior to June 5, 2010, including on an extraschedular basis, is dismissed due to the Veteran's death.