Hearing loss decisions — 2022

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 were incurred during active duty.

The Board has denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and remanded the issue of an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for thrombosis/TIA/cerebral infarction. The case is being returned to VA for further development.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral sensorineural hearing loss is likely due to noise exposure during service, and thus grants service connection on a direct basis.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss is denied. The Veteran's service-connected hemorrhoids are granted an increased rating of 10 percent, but no higher. The matter of the Veteran's lumbar spine disability remains remanded.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, but has remanded the issue of service connection for bilateral hearing loss due to inadequate VA examination and missing records.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss, right ankle disability, and left ankle disability have been granted. The Board found that the evidence was at least in equipoise regarding the question of whether the Veteran's current disabilities are etiologically related to military noise exposure.

The Veteran's service-connected PTSD, degenerative lumbar spondylosis, rheumatoid arthritis of the bilateral lower extremities (rhabdomyosarcoma is not a condition, but radiculopathy is attributed to it), diabetes mellitus type II, psoriasis, and hypertensive heart disease have rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment from February 9, 2016.,The Veteran's service-connected PTSD, degenerative lumbar spondylosis, rheumatoid arthritis of the bilateral lower extremities (rhabdomyosarcoma is not a condition, but radiculopathy is attributed to it), diabetes mellitus type II, psoriasis, and hypertensive heart disease have rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment prior to February 9, 2016.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that these conditions are etiologically related to the Veteran's period of active service.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is currently rated at 30 percent, and the Board found no evidence to warrant a higher rating based on his complaints of difficulty hearing in distracting environments.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete service treatment records and a need for additional medical opinions regarding the cause of death.

The Board has granted a disability rating of 20 percent for bilateral hearing loss from April 19, 2021. The Veteran's hearing acuity decreased between the June 2014 and April 2021 examinations, but there is no sufficient evidence to determine when his hearing worsened to a compensable level.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to scheduling issues and the need for a VA audiological examination. The Veteran's hearing loss disability needs further evaluation, and a medical opinion is required.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss has been manifested by hearing acuity of no worse than Level I in both ears, resulting in a zero percent disability rating. The Board denied the claim for a compensable rating as the evidence did not support a higher evaluation.

The Veteran's left ear hearing loss is granted as service-connected.,The Veteran's cysts on organs and skin condition due to exposure to herbicide agents are denied as not related to service.

The Board has granted service connection for hypertension, finding it presumptively related to herbicide exposure. However, the Veteran's right ear hearing loss is not considered a disability for VA purposes and thus service connection is denied.

The Veteran's claim for an initial compensable disability rating for bilateral hearing loss is remanded due to the absence of his July 2020 VA audiogram.

The Veteran's claim for an initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss prior to February 19, 2021, was denied.,The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for bilateral hearing loss from February 19, 2021, was also denied.

The Board has granted service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability and associated tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are at least as likely as not caused by his military service.

The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings for service-connected bilateral hearing loss was dismissed due to procedural defects in the modernized review system.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss is rated at 10 percent from February 24, 2022. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating.