Hearing loss decisions — 2021

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss has been rated at 50% since June 1, 2016. The Board found that the evidence does not support a rating in excess of 50%.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that his right ear hearing loss was noted at entry and not aggravated during service. The left ear hearing loss was presumed to have existed prior to service and was not aggravated by service.

The Board dismissed the appeals of service connection claims for posttraumatic stress disorder, bilateral hearing loss, and bilateral tinnitus due to the death of the appellant before a decision was made.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability is related to in-service acoustic noise exposure, and thus service connection for this condition is granted.

The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to his death, and the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of these claims.

The Veteran's PTSD is rated at 70 percent, but the Board denied a higher rating. The Veteran was also granted TDIU based on his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's service-connected hearing loss and tinnitus do not prevent him from obtaining or maintaining substantially gainful employment.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that the Veteran's continuous symptoms since service separation are presumed to have been incurred in service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss disability did not manifest during service or within one year of service, and is not etiologically caused by an in-service injury, event or disease.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is granted as his hearing loss is at least as likely as not related to noise exposure during service.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that there is no evidence to support a nexus between these conditions and his military service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for tinnitus is granted. The Board finds that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss disability is related to in-service noise exposure and grants this claim as well.

The Veteran's appeals for a compensable disability rating for left ear hearing loss and service connection for right ear hearing loss have been dismissed due to the death of the appellant.

The Veteran's right leg peripheral vascular disease resulted in claudication on walking less than 25 yards and an ankle/brachial index of 0.62, which does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.,Prior to December 19, 2019, the Veteran had mild incomplete paralysis of the sciatic and femoral nerves in both legs; as of that date, he had moderate incomplete paralysis.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the etiology of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. The case will be returned for further development and an addendum opinion from a VA examiner.

The Board has remanded the case due to a need for clarification regarding the etiology of the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran's claim for higher initial ratings for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss is remanded due to the need for a contemporaneous VA examination and updated treatment records.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss was rated at 10 percent from December 13, 2016 to November 13, 2020. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating during this period.

The Board has remanded the cases due to missing audiogram results and clarification of word recognition scores, as well as obtaining relevant private healthcare records.

The Board denied service connection for hearing loss, skin disorder as a result of exposure to herbicide in the Korean DMZ, and an acquired psychiatric disorder to include insomnia, nervous disorder with anxiety and depression. The evidence did not show these conditions were incurred or aggravated by active military service.,There is no probative evidence linking the Veteran's current hearing loss, skin disorder, or psychiatric disorders to his active duty service.