Hearing loss decisions — 2020

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability has been rated as non-compensable (0%) due to the severity of his hearing impairment not warranting a higher rating.

The Board has denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss as the Veteran's noise exposure in service did not produce significant hearing impairment or significantly diminish his hearing during service.

The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus effective December 10, 2013. The Veteran's military occupational specialty was consistent with exposure to acoustic trauma.

The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed for the issues of service connection for scalp condition, sleep apnea, urinary incontinence, hammer toe (right and left feet), right shoulder disability, left shoulder disability, neck disability, acquired psychiatric disability; rating for urinary incontinence, in excess of 10 percent prior to October 18, 2019 and in excess of 20 percent thereafter; earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for urinary incontinence; hammer toe (right and left feet); right shoulder disability; left shoulder disability; neck disability; acquired psychiatric disability. The Veteran's appeal has also been dismissed for issues regarding an increased rating for diabetes mellitus, bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, and earlier effective dates for those conditions.,The Veteran's migraine headache disability was granted service connection as secondary to his service-connected bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to insufficient evidence regarding their etiology.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development due to the need to obtain additional medical records. The Veteran's claims for service connection for right ear hearing loss, Parkinson’s disease, and type 2 diabetes mellitus are currently pending.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's right ear hearing loss. The examiner is requested to review all pertinent records and provide an opinion on whether it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran’s right ear hearing loss is related to his military service, including any right ear tympanic membrane injury or noise exposure therein.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are related to his in-service noise exposure. The decision is based on direct service connection as there was no presumption or secondary service connection.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there is no competent evidence to support a nexus between his current hearing loss disability and noise exposure in service.

The Veteran's hearing loss disability was denied for a compensable rating prior to June 18, 2019 and granted a 30 percent rating from that date forward. The decision also noted the Veteran's difficulty understanding others due to his hearing impairment.

The Veteran's initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is denied. The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for a right shoulder disability and an acquired psychiatric disorder (PTSD and depressive disorder) due to insufficient evidence in the record.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is not related to his service, and therefore denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus as new and relevant evidence was not received within a year of the January 2018 rating decision.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that the Veteran's current hearing loss is related to his in-service hazardous noise exposure.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is related to in-service acoustic trauma, and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.

Service connection is granted for tinnitus. Service connection is remanded for bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings for tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss (BHL), and PTSD has been denied. The Veteran was granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability.,The Veteran’s service-connected disabilities have not resulted in the maximum schedular evaluations available.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus did not render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation prior to September 4, 2019. Therefore, the claim for Total Disability Rating Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU) is denied.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's symptoms are presumed to have been incurred during his military service due to noise exposure.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss and a skin disability due to incomplete examination reports and outstanding private treatment records.