Hearing loss decisions — 2022

The Board has remanded the case due to outstanding VA treatment records that need to be obtained for a fair evaluation of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus but has remanded the case for further action regarding bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran's service connection claim for bilateral hearing loss is denied as there is no current hearing loss disability for VA purposes.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for additional development due to incomplete compliance with previous directives and the need for further clarification of opinions.

The Board has determined that the appellant does not have hearing loss for VA purposes in either ear and finds that his right ear hearing loss is not related to service. As such, the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied.

The Veteran is granted service connection for tinnitus.,Service connection is remanded for bilateral hearing loss disability, bilateral nuclear sclerotic cataracts as secondary to diabetes mellitus, and a sleep disability as secondary to PTSD.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for bilateral hearing loss was denied as the Veteran failed to report for a scheduled VA examination without good cause. The Board found that the examinations were necessary to establish entitlement to the benefits sought.

The Board has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's service connection claims, including hypertension, knee conditions, hearing loss, mental health disorders, COPD and/or asthma, and sleep apnea. The remand requires obtaining additional medical records, verifying stressors, confirming exposure to asbestos, scheduling examinations for each condition, and determining the etiology of any diagnosed respiratory disorder and sleep disorder.

The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for TBI, bilateral hearing loss, cervical spine disability, petite mal seizures, and obstructive sleep apnea due to insufficient development or examination.

The Board has found that an effective date prior to December 23, 2015, for the award of service connection for hypertension is not warranted. The case is remanded for further development regarding initial compensable rating for hypertension, bilateral hearing loss, tachycardia, and diabetes mellitus type II.

The Board denied requests for earlier effective dates for the grant of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the earliest date of receipt was February 13, 2017.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim for service connection of left ear hearing loss due to potential errors in obtaining his National Guard service records and VA examinations not addressing the relationship between right ear hearing loss and left ear hearing loss.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss, finding that the Veteran's symptoms are related to his in-service noise exposure.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to multiple pre-decisional duty to assist errors, including incorrect social security numbers and missing military records. Additional evidence is needed to determine the relationship between his conditions and active duty.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for lumbar spine stenosis L4/L5; L3/L4 and bilateral hearing loss due to duty-to-assist errors. The examiner is asked to provide an addendum opinion regarding whether the Veteran's preexisting lumbar condition was aggravated by service, and to opine on the likelihood of a current disability being related to service.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to errors in pre-decisional duty to assist and inadequate VA examiner's nexus opinions concerning the Veteran's right and left ear hearing loss.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection for right ear hearing loss before the Board could make a decision.

The Board has granted service connection for left ear hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the evidence is at least evenly balanced as to whether these conditions had their onset during service.

The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of substantial compliance with previous remand orders and the need for an addendum opinion addressing conflicting medical research.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including his DDD involving the lumbosacral spine and related radiculopathy conditions, have rendered him unable to secure or maintain substantially gainful employment since December 1, 2011.