Hearing loss decisions — 2023

The Board has granted service connection for a right knee disability, right ear hearing loss, and tinnitus. The case is remanded to obtain updated VA examination records for left ear hearing loss.

The petition to reopen service connection for a left ankle condition is denied.,Service connection for a heart condition, bilateral hearing loss, and hypertension are all denied. The Veteran's claim for erectile dysfunction (claimed as secondary to hypertension) and headaches are remanded.

The Veteran's petition to reopen claims for service connection for tinnitus, right ear hearing loss, and left ear hearing loss was granted. Service connection for tinnitus is established based on the benefit of doubt, while service connection for right ear hearing loss and left ear hearing loss are denied.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to a lack of evidence meeting the criteria for a current disability under 38 C.F.R. § 3.385, and because there was no competent medical evidence linking these conditions to service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for tinnitus is granted, and the case is remanded for a new VA examination to assess his bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran's hypertension is granted as presumptively associated with herbicide exposure under the PACT Act. His bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are denied.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to unclear evidence of current disability and potential service connection.

The Veteran's claims for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss and service connection for gastritis are being remanded due to outstanding records that need to be associated with the case file.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, combined, rendered him unable to obtain or retain substantially gainful employment during the rating period from January 20, 2016 through December 6, 2021. The Board granted TDIU for this period.

The Veteran's claims for hearing loss of the right ear, leukemia, sleep apnea, gout, and hyperthyroidism are being remanded due to insufficient evidence regarding their service connection.

The Board denied an effective date prior to February 17, 2017, for the grant of a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU). The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not render him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation prior to that date.

The Board has dismissed the Veteran's claim for hearing loss and has remanded his claim for PTSD. The case is now pending for further development.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been granted, but the appeals are remanded for further development and rating actions.

The Board has remanded the cases due to new evidence added since the last Statement of the Case, and the Veteran requested that the RO review this evidence first.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current hearing disability and military service.

The Veteran's hearing loss was rated as noncompensable prior to January 31, 2020 and increased to 30 percent from January 31, 2020 to April 4, 2023. The Veteran is seeking a rating in excess of 60 percent for his hearing loss since April 4, 2023.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was evaluated as Level I in all VA examinations conducted during the appeal period, warranting a 0 percent disability rating. Therefore, an initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is denied.

The Board has denied service connection for right ear hearing loss due to lack of current disability. The case is remanded for further examination and opinion regarding left ear hearing loss.

The Veteran's claim for increased disability evaluations for bilateral hearing loss was denied. The Board found that the Veteran is not entitled to a higher evaluation based on his audiometric test results, and no extraschedular rating was warranted.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current tinnitus began during active service. The decision also remanded the issue of service connection for bilateral hearing loss due to potential issues with the evidence provided.