Hearing loss decisions — 2021

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, is granted with a rating of 50%. The claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are denied as they were not related to service.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not meet the criteria for a TDIU prior to September 11, 2015. The Board found that his service-connected conditions were not of sufficient severity to produce unemployability.

The Veteran's tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss are granted as service connected. The neck and back conditions are remanded for further examination.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further examination and evaluation of his bilateral hearing loss, as well as a TDIU claim. The issues are inextricably intertwined.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is currently rated at 20 percent, which is the maximum rating available under VA regulations. The Board found that his audiometric results did not warrant a higher rating.

The Board denied service connection for high blood pressure, heart disorder, and left knee disorder as there was no evidence linking these conditions to the Veteran's active duty service.,Service connection for left ear hearing loss was also denied because the Veteran did not meet the VA criteria for a current diagnosis of hearing loss in that ear.

The Board has remanded the cases due to inadequate previous opinions and a need for new evidence. The right ear hearing loss case requires a new opinion addressing whether it is at least as likely as not that the condition resulted from in-service acoustic trauma, considering medical literature on delayed onset hearing loss.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, right wrist disorder, left wrist disorder, right knee disorder, and left knee disorder. The case is being remanded to obtain additional medical opinions regarding the Veteran's stroke residuals.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and remanded the issue of an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD and body dysmorphic disorder.

The Veteran's hearing loss claim is remanded due to the lack of audiometric testing results in his claims file.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability, tinnitus, residuals of TBI, and acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD. The reasons given were that there was no evidence of delayed onset hearing loss or other conditions related to service.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and genital herpes. The evidence does not support a finding of current disabilities in these conditions.,For hearing loss, the VA examiner found no evidence of hearing loss disability as defined by regulation.

The Board has remanded the cases due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the Veteran's claims for service connection. The Veteran is seeking service connection for bilateral hearing loss, left knee osteoarthritis, and right knee condition, all of which are currently denied.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that there is evidence of record establishing a link between the Veteran’s noise exposure in service and his current conditions.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus did not render him unemployable prior to October 1, 2015. The Board found that the evidence did not support an exceptional situation preventing the Veteran from obtaining and maintaining employment due to his service-connected disabilities.

The Board has denied a compensable initial evaluation for bilateral hearing loss and remanded the issue of service connection for left eye disability due to incomplete service personnel records.

The Veteran's son, R.T., is recognized as the 'helpless child' due to permanent incapacity for self-support prior to attaining age 18. The Board found that evidence both supported and contradicted the claim of permanent incapacity at age 18, but decided in favor of the appellant.

The Veteran's claim for increased evaluations for bilateral hearing loss was denied. Prior to February 14, 2020, the evaluation remained at noncompensable. Since then, a 20 percent evaluation has been assigned.

The Board has granted service connection for benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) and remanded the issues of service connection for left wrist disability and left ear hearing loss. The Veteran's BPH is found to have started during active duty, while his left wrist and left ear hearing loss are not considered disabling under VA criteria.

The Veteran's claim for a higher disability rating for bilateral hearing loss was denied as the evidence did not show that his hearing acuity warranted a compensable evaluation.,Service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, claimed as PTSD, was also denied because there is no current diagnosis of PTSD and the Veteran has not provided credible supporting evidence of an in-service stressor.