Hearing loss decisions — 2023

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right knee, left knee, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus disabilities.,There is no evidence of a current disability in any of these conditions during or within one year after service.

The Veteran's appeal regarding the disability ratings for bilateral hearing loss has been dismissed as the Veteran requested to withdraw all pending claims.

The Board has granted a TDIU on an extraschedular basis prior to August 7, 2019, finding that the Veteran's service-connected hearing loss and tinnitus disabilities precluded him from securing or following substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's appeal has been REMANDED for further development and examination. Issues include service connection for bilateral hearing loss, right knee disability, left knee disability, right heel disability, left heel disability, and headaches.

The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for his service-connected right eustachian tube dysfunction and residuals of perforated tympanic membrane is remanded due to the need for further examination and consideration of all related conditions.

The Board has remanded the claims of entitlement to service connection for right ear hearing loss and left ankle disability due to inadequate VA medical opinions. The Veteran's current disabilities are being reviewed again.

The Veteran's claim for bilateral hearing loss is denied as he does not have a current disability for VA purposes.,The Veteran's claim for tinnitus is granted as his tinnitus is etiologically related to noise exposure in service.

The Board has remanded the claims to reopen for consideration of new and material evidence related to low back, bilateral knee, left ankle, bilateral hearing loss, right knee, and right ankle disorders.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, a back disability, a right knee disability, and a left knee disability. The cases are being remanded for further examination and opinion.

The Veteran's service-connected hearing loss of the left ear is rated as noncompensable due to its essentially normal acuity.,Service connection for an enlarged prostate was denied as it does not qualify as a disability for VA compensation purposes.

The Veteran's claim for bilateral hearing loss is denied as there is no evidence of a current disability. The claims for upper back and right shoulder disabilities are remanded due to incomplete medical records and need further examination.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's claim of service connection for bilateral hearing loss should be remanded due to inadequate examination and opinion regarding the etiology of his hearing loss.

The Veteran's left ear hearing loss was evaluated as Level I, which corresponds to a noncompensable disability rating. The Board found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a compensable initial disability rating.

The Board has determined that the VA examination conducted was inadequate and remands the case for further development, including obtaining an addendum opinion from a clinician regarding significant threshold shift and providing a medical opinion on the relationship between the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and service.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are granted as service-connected.,For the left knee, the Veteran is still seeking an increased rating.

The Veteran's appeal for hypertension was dismissed. The eye disorder claim was denied, but the heart disorder claim was granted and reopened based on new evidence. The thoracolumbar spine disability and associated neurological abnormalities were also granted and reopened. The left ear hearing loss claim was denied.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's tinnitus claim is granted, but has remanded the bilateral hearing loss claim due to insufficient evidence.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection and a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss is dismissed. The right ear hearing loss issue has been remanded.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss has been rated as Level I (noncompensable) throughout the period on appeal, and the Board finds that this rating is appropriate based on the audiometric test results provided.

The Board has remanded the case due to issues related to obtaining a March 2019 audiogram and reconsidering the Veteran's word recognition scores from that time.