Hearing loss decisions — 2023

The Veteran's service-connected conditions, including ischemic heart disease, lumbosacral strain, and peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities, prevented him from securing or maintaining substantially gainful employment.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding no evidence of continuity of symptoms since discharge from service.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence was received to reopen the Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The claim is granted as there is at least equipoise in the evidence regarding whether the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss disability is related to his military noise exposure.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability is granted as service-connected. The right and left hip disabilities, as well as the left ankle disability, are denied secondary to other service-connected conditions or due to obesity. Service connection for a heart disability is granted based on herbicide exposure. A TDIU is granted.

The Veteran's service-connected PTSD disability, standing alone, prevents him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation as of October 11, 2017.

The Veteran's petition to reopen the claim of service connection for major depressive disorder was granted, and he is now entitled to a disability rating. The effective date for this grant is not specified.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for left ear hearing loss as there is no current disability meeting VA compensation criteria.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for PTSD and hearing loss, as well as his TDIU claim, are being remanded due to the need for new examinations to assess current disability levels.

The Board has decided to remand the cases of bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus for further examination and opinion due to inadequate opinions in previous VA examinations.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, a right ankle disorder, and a left knee disorder due to inadequate examination opinions and lack of medical evidence.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that there is no evidence of a nexus between his current conditions and his military service.

The Board has denied service connection for right ear hearing loss, finding that the Veteran's current condition is not related to his military service. The case is remanded for further action on the claim of service connection for sleep apnea.,Service connection for sleep apnea is also being remanded due to potential secondary service connection based on the presumptive exposure to burn pits and associated conditions.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to insufficient consideration of the Veteran's lay statements and medical literature, as well as new arguments submitted by his representative.

The Veteran is granted a TDIU and SMC at the housebound rate due to service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's service connection claims for bilateral hearing loss and cervical spine condition have been granted. The Board found that the Veteran had continuous symptoms since service, which is considered as continuity of symptomatology.

The Veteran's claim for increased ratings and TDIU prior to March 16, 2020 is remanded due to the need for updated VA examinations.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinions and failure to comply with previous remand instructions regarding the etiology of bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is related to service exposure, and the Board has granted his claim for service connection.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that it did not have its onset in service and is not etiologically related to service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for an increased rating for bilateral hearing loss and entitlement to TDIU due to unclear symptomatology and insufficient income information.