Hearing loss decisions — 2021

The Board has remanded the claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities. The Veteran's service-connected conditions include voiding dysfunction, renal dysfunction, PTSD, tinnitus, erectile dysfunction, and bilateral hearing loss. Additional development is needed to determine if these conditions prevent him from securing or maintaining substantially gainful employment.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including left shoulder disability, sleep apnea, residuals of traumatic brain injury, tuberculosis, COPD, and bilateral hearing loss. The decision also denied a higher rating for PTSD prior to April 28, 2016, and an effective date earlier than April 28, 2016 for the grant of TDIU.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether these conditions are related to the Veteran's active military service.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the etiology of the veteran's bilateral hearing loss, which may be related to service. The veteran served as a teletype operator for six months and was awarded the Rifle Sharpshooter Badge.

Service connection is granted for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, with an initial rating of 70 percent for PTSD.,PTSD symptoms result in occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas.

The Veteran's hearing has worsened since his last examination in June 2014, and a new VA examination is needed to determine the current severity of his bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran's DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 is denied because he was not continuously rated as totally disabled for a period of at least ten years prior to his death, nor was he continuously rated as totally disabled for a period of at least five years from his date of discharge from active military service.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed for the Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability, degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, right upper extremity thoracic outlet syndrome, and left upper extremity thoracic outlet syndrome. The Veteran will be scheduled for VA examinations to determine the current level of severity of his disabilities and to provide opinions on whether they are related to service.

The Board has restored the Veteran's 40% disability rating for service-connected bilateral hearing loss, effective June 9, 2016.

The Veteran's service-connected conditions do not prevent him from maintaining gainful employment, and the Board denies his claim for a TDIU.

The Veteran meets schedular requirements for a TDIU as of June 29, 2016 due to his service-connected hearing loss and tinnitus resulting in his inability to obtain and maintain employment.

The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to insufficient opinions in previous evaluations. The case is being returned for further development.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining VA and private treatment records, scheduling a VA examination to assess hearing loss severity, and scheduling another VA examination to determine if the Veteran is entitled to compensation benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for abdominal surgery residuals.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that the evidence is at least in equipoise that his hearing loss is related to his active duty service.

The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service-connected. The Board has expanded the psychiatric claim to include all acquired psychiatric disabilities, and it is remanded for further examination and opinion regarding these claims. Gout, right lower extremity disability, left lower extremity disability, bilateral hearing loss, chronic liver disease (including hepatitis C), and back disability are also remanded due to lack of sufficient medical evidence.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss before the decision was made.

The Board denied service connection for hearing loss of the right ear as there was no evidence of a current disability meeting VA criteria.

The Board has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's service connection claims, including bilateral hearing loss, chronic paranoid schizophrenia, sleep apnea, and various fractures. The cases are being returned for further examination and opinion.

The Board denied service connection for a back disability, left leg disability, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder. The Board found that the Veteran's current disabilities were not incurred in or caused by his military service.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to determine the nature and etiology of any current low back, cervical spine, hearing loss, tinnitus, hepatitis C, acquired psychiatric disorder (including major depressive disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)), bilateral pes planus, and a cervical spine disorders. The case is REMANDED for these purposes.