Hearing loss decisions — 2022

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current hearing loss disability for VA purposes, and therefore service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, and therefore the claim for TDIU on an extraschedular basis was denied.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection were denied. The cervical disability was found not to warrant a rating in excess of 10 percent, while the short-term memory loss, fatigue, headache, respiratory, and right ear hearing loss disabilities were not supported by evidence meeting the criteria for service connection.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for hearing loss, diabetes, and bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy due to service-connected coronary artery disease. The decision also found that new evidence did not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim for hearing loss.

The Veteran's claims for service connection of various conditions, including muscle and joint pain, essential tremor, right knee disability, asthma, low back disability, and left ear hearing loss are all granted. However, the effective dates for some of these grants have not been determined yet.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been remanded due to the need for additional evidence and examinations. The issues include back pain, scoliosis, deviated nasal septum, traumatic brain injury, bilateral hearing loss disability, tinnitus, PTSD, and sleep apnea.

The Board has remanded the claims for further development due to incomplete medical opinions and inextricably intertwined with the TDIU claim.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection for heart disorder, diabetes mellitus, and hearing loss have been withdrawn. The case is remanded due to the need for additional development regarding hearing loss.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, pulmonary disorder (to include asthma), and sleep apnea due to insufficient development of evidence.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss but has remanded the issue of service connection for vertigo, to include Meniere's disease and vagal nerve syndrome (secondary to service-connected tinnitus).

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, mid back and lower back pain with degenerative changes of the lumbar spine, sciatica, and periodic limb movement disorder as there is no evidence that these conditions began during or are otherwise related to service.,There were no current diagnoses meeting VA standards for hearing loss, and the Veteran did not have a diagnosed back disability. The Board also found no link between any in-service treatment and current back pain or sciatica.,The Veteran's claim for periodic limb movement disorder was denied as there is no evidence of a current diagnosis of this condition related to service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and initial disability rating for various conditions are remanded due to the need for new VA examinations.

The Board has determined that further development is necessary before the Veteran's claims can be adjudicated due to a lack of medical evidence on file for determining the etiology of his claimed disabilities. The claims are REMANDED for these purposes.

The Board has determined that the VA examinations for the Veteran's claimed conditions are inadequate and remanded to obtain new, adequate opinions. The claims for service connection for various disabilities remain pending.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is reopened due to the submission of new and material evidence. The case is remanded for further evaluation.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to a lack of medical evidence linking these conditions to service, despite conceded combat noise exposure. The Veteran's July 2015 Notice of Disagreement suggests that his hearing loss and tinnitus may be related to in-service explosions.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are granted service connection. Erectile dysfunction, urinary and bowel disorders, and diabetic retinopathy are denied. PTSD is granted at a 70% rating.

The Board has determined that the Veteran is unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation due to his service-connected psychiatric disability, and therefore grants TDIU with a rating of 70% for depressive disorder.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right ear and left ear hearing loss, finding that there was no current diagnosis of hearing loss disability under VA regulations and insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between his military noise exposure and his hearing loss.

The Board denied the Veteran's requests for earlier effective dates for various service connection claims, including tinnitus, hearing loss, DMII, a lumbar sprain, left femur fracture, peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities (sciatic and femoral nerves), and peripheral neuropathy of the right lower extremity femoral nerve. The Board found that the earliest possible effective dates were May 7, 2013, when the Veteran filed his claims for service connection.