Hearing loss decisions — 2021

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric condition is granted as secondary to his service-connected orthopedic conditions. Various issues of service connection and disability ratings are also granted or remanded.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted in service and is a chronic disease, thus granting service connection for this condition.

The Board has remanded the case for further development and consideration, including obtaining additional medical records and providing a supplemental opinion regarding the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder (to include PTSD) due to personal assault. The claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are also being remanded.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability is granted as accrued benefits. The left and right knee disabilities, dementia, and hypertension are denied.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for carcinoid cancer and fevers due to service, as well as his claim of an earlier effective date for bilateral hearing loss. The Veteran is requested to provide more information about his in-service hospitalization for a fever.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to obtain the Veteran's service treatment records and to clarify his reported in-service hospitalization. The claims for service connection are therefore being remanded.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss has been manifested by hearing acuity of no worse than Level IV in the right ear and no worse than Level I in the left ear, resulting in a noncompensable disability rating.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have prevented him from obtaining and maintaining any form of gainful employment consistent with his work and education background.

The Board has remanded the issues of entitlement to higher ratings for left shoulder disability and bilateral hearing loss, as well as the issue of TDIU. The Veteran's left shoulder disability is rated at 30 percent prior to April 25, 2012, with a separate rating of 20 percent granted for recurrent dislocation of the scapulohumeral joint. Bilateral hearing loss remains at 10 percent.

The Board denied dependency and indemnity compensation based on service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there is no evidence to support a relationship between his service-connected disabilities (back, lower extremity radiculopathy, hearing loss, tinnitus) and his death from myocardial infarction.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and its relationship to her service-connected tinnitus. The Veteran is also asked to provide any outstanding private or VA treatment records, including her complete service treatment records.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there is no evidence of a chronic disability during service or within a presumptive period, and concluding that the current hearing loss is not related to active duty service.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and bilateral foot fungus, finding no evidence of in-service onset or continuity of symptoms that would support a grant of service connection.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to new evidence and testimony presented during her hearing. The issues of left ear hearing loss, tinnitus, right shoulder disability, left shoulder disability, low back disability, and carpal tunnel syndrome (bilateral upper extremities) are being addressed on the merits.

The Board dismissed the Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates as moot because a separate decision found that there was CUE in an earlier rating decision, which granted service connection and assigned September 9, 2015 as the effective date. The new decision now grants the earliest possible effective date.

The Board has granted an earlier effective date of December 5, 1978 for the grant of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to a finding of clear and unmistakable error in the November 1979 decision.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for an ear disability, including bilateral hearing loss, otalgia, and symptoms of ear popping, dizziness, and balance problems. The evidence did not show a nexus between these conditions and his military service.

The Board has remanded the claims for further development due to a lack of audiometric data conversion and an addendum opinion regarding the etiology of bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for bilateral hearing loss was denied as the audiometric testing did not support a compensable rating under Diagnostic Code 6100.

The Board denied service connection for back disability, left knee disability, right knee disability, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder (to include PTSD) as the evidence did not show a link between these conditions and military service.