Hearing loss decisions — 2021

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions began during his military service and have continued since then.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development and opinion regarding whether the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to service.

The Board has decided to remand the cases for further development and consideration due to new evidence submitted by the Veteran.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is rated as noncompensable, and his lower back condition is granted service connection. The decision denies a higher rating for the hearing loss.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the etiology of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss, specifically noise exposure during service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for tinnitus has been reopened, and the Board finds that service connection is warranted.,Service connection was denied for bilateral hearing loss. The Board found no evidence of a chronic disease in service or within a presumptive period.

The Board has decided to remand the claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to an inadequate VA medical opinion based on inaccurate facts provided by the examiner.

The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, a back disability, hypertension, and bilateral hand numbness due to unresolved matters related to the character of discharge from the appellant's second period of service. The Board also ordered further development regarding the Office of Inspector General reports.

The Board has granted service connection for left ear hearing loss, finding that the evidence is at least in equipoise and resolving all reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.

The Veteran's death is not service-connected, and the claim for DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 is being remanded due to inadequate medical opinion.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to incomplete record development and need for additional medical opinions. The issues include psychiatric disorders, migraine headaches, muscle spasms of the back and legs (separate from lumbar spine disability), neck disorder, and right ear hearing loss.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's claim for service connection for tinnitus is denied, and the issue of service connection for bilateral hearing loss is remanded due to a duty-to-assist error.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection are remanded due to duty-to-assist errors in prior decisions.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his bilateral sensorineural hearing loss was denied as there is no evidence of an increase in disability within the one-year period prior to April 29, 2019.

The Board has denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and granted service connection for tinnitus. The remaining issues have been remanded.,Service connection is being remanded for left hip degenerative joint disease, right hip degenerative joint disease, degenerative arthritis of the spine, and bilateral feet (including degenerative arthritis and plantar fasciitis).

The Board has denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's timely substantive appeals were received in response to the March 18, 2019 Statements of the Case. As a result, the appeal is granted for all issues listed.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right ear hearing loss is related to in-service noise exposure and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeal because his request to reinstate withdrawn claims was untimely, and the appeals were effectively withdrawn on March 25, 2015.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is not caused or aggravated by his service-connected otitis externa, and thus denied the claim.