Hearing loss decisions — 2023

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied as there is no current evidence of a hearing disability, and the Board finds that his left ear hearing loss is not related to in-service noise exposure.

The Veteran was granted service connection for right ear hearing loss and tinnitus. The initial compensable rating for left ear hearing loss is being remanded.,Service connection for right ear hearing loss and tinnitus are established, with the latter linked to in-service noise exposure.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence of current hearing loss related to military service.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings, service connection, and other issues are being remanded due to the need for additional examinations and the potential existence of outstanding VA treatment records.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for bilateral tinnitus and immune disorder has been dismissed as the Veteran withdrew his appeal in November 2022.

The Veteran's representative withdrew all issues on appeal in a July 2022 written statement, leading to the dismissal of the appeal.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim of service connection for bilateral hearing loss as there is no evidence of a current disability, and the most probative evidence shows that he does not have hearing loss for VA purposes.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is denied for a compensable rating prior to February 26, 2020 and denied for an increased rating in excess of 10 percent after that date.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss as there is no valid testing of record that meets the requisite auditory thresholds for a hearing loss disability for VA compensation purposes.

The Board has decided to remand the claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to new evidence received since the last final denial.

The Board has decided to remand the cases for further development and consideration, including obtaining addendum opinions from a qualified medical examiner regarding the etiology of the claimed tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for left ear hearing loss and a compensable disability rating for right ear hearing loss has been denied. The decision is based on the Veteran's withdrawal of his appeals in February 2017, which was valid.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence linking his current hearing loss to his military service. The Board noted that his hearing was normal at both entrance and separation from service.

The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to insufficient consideration of relevant service treatment records and the Veteran's lay statements.

The Board has remanded the cases of bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus due to insufficient evidence in the service treatment records, requiring a new VA examination.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability was evaluated as noncompensable throughout the appeal period, with no evidence of an increase in severity.

The Board has granted service connection for right ear hearing loss but has remanded the issue of service connection for an upper back disorder due to a lack of examination and opinion regarding this condition.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for left ankle disability, bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, left wrist disability, right knee disability, left knee disability, right shoulder disability, and left shoulder disability due to a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to inconsistencies in his statements regarding the onset of his tinnitus and hearing loss, as well as inadequate VA examination opinions. The Veteran is also being advised that he must provide adequate responses to the audiological examinations.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for various hand and elbow conditions were denied as the evidence did not show that his service-connected conditions warranted a higher rating.