Hearing loss decisions — 2023

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, left ankle disorder, left foot disorder, low back disorder, and skin disorder. The reasons given were that there was no evidence of hearing loss within one year of discharge and that the current hearing loss is not related to military service or service-connected tinnitus.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hearing loss and PTSD due to exposure to friendly fire in Vietnam. The claim for burn scars of the hands related to agent orange exposure is also remanded.,The VA will attempt to verify the appellant's reported stressor for his PTSD claim, and a new examination will be scheduled to determine if any current mental health condition is related to service.,A VA examiner will review the claims file and provide an opinion on whether the appellant's burn scars are related to or incurred during his period of active service.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus on a presumptive basis due to continuous symptoms since service separation.

The Veteran's tinnitus was granted service connection. The Board found the evidence insufficient to establish a current hearing loss disability in the right ear for VA purposes and remanded for further examination.

The Board has denied service connection for a low back disorder and bilateral hearing loss, finding that the current conditions are not related to service.

The Veteran's claim for an initial compensable rating for a right ankle strain is remanded due to the need for additional examination.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is remanded as there are issues with exposure basis and noise exposure during military service.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for tinnitus, but has remanded the issue of service connection for bilateral hearing loss due to insufficient evidence.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's initial rating for hearing loss should be remanded due to the need for further development and consideration of other symptoms reported by the Veteran.

The Veteran has withdrawn his appeal for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, which was secondary to service-connected hypertension.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the onset and causation of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss, which may be related to service exposure. A new VA examination is needed.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to inadequate examination reports, which did not consider the Veteran's in-service noise exposure and pre-service audiograms.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to a lack of a Statement of the Case (SOC).

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for left ear hearing loss and obstructive sleep apnea disabilities. The Veteran's allergic rhinitis claim is remanded, and his chronic fatigue syndrome (to include as due to Gulf War syndrome) claim requires further development.,The Veteran was not found to have a current diagnosis of left ear hearing loss or obstructive sleep apnea disability related to service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a gastrointestinal disability, including IBS and GERD, finding no evidence of such condition during service or that it is related to his service-connected acquired psychiatric disability. The Board also found no evidence of bilateral hearing loss due to exposure to noise in service, thus denying presumptive service connection.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus have been reopened, but the Board has remanded both issues due to inadequate medical opinions regarding their etiology.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and MDD, was denied as the most persuasive evidence demonstrated that his current diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder did not have its onset during active duty service or was otherwise etiologically related to service. The claims for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, left knee disability, and right knee disability are remanded due to a lack of VA examination records.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient rationale for a negative nexus opinion regarding the Veteran's right ear hearing loss. The Veteran's service treatment records and military personnel file records are available, but an in-person examination is not warranted.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD and lumbar spine disability, rendered him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation prior to June 26, 2018. The Board granted TDIU for this period.

The Veteran's claims for an initial compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss, service connection for a gastrointestinal disability as secondary to PTSD, and service connection for a headache disability as secondary to PTSD are being remanded due to the need for additional evidence and medical opinions.

The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for a low back disability, an initial rating higher than 40 percent for bilateral hearing loss, and an initial rating higher than 10 percent for tinnitus due to lack of recent VA treatment records and need for new examination.