Hearing loss decisions — 2024

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, a cervical spine disorder, a low back disorder, and a right hip disorder due to errors in obtaining relevant medical records and failing to provide a VA examination.

The Veteran's right ear hearing loss does not meet the regulatory degree of hearing loss required for a rating in excess of 0 percent, and therefore his claim for an increased evaluation is denied.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence of a current disability and that any hearing loss did not have its onset during or within one year after service. The medical evidence did not support presumptive service connection based on noise exposure or continuity of symptomatology.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to a lack of service records and an inadequate VA examination. The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss will be reviewed again with additional evidence.

The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeals for hearing loss, anxiety disorder, and adjustment disorder with anxiety. Service connection was granted for acquired psychiatric disorders secondary to degenerative disc disease and neurogenic erectile dysfunction secondary to degenerative disc disease. SMC based on loss of use of a creative organ was granted.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is service-connected as it is causally related to his in-service noise exposure.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus but remanded the issue of service connection for bilateral hearing loss due to inadequate medical opinion.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and diabetes mellitus type II, finding no evidence of a nexus between the conditions and military service.,Service connection was not granted on either issue due to lack of in-service diagnosis or exposure, and insufficient post-service medical evidence linking the conditions to service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for TDIU prior to August 28, 2013 and from August 28, 2013 and prior to November 26, 2019. The evidence did not meet the criteria for a schedular or extraschedular TDIU.

The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.

The Board denied a higher disability rating for service-connected bilateral hearing loss, finding that the evidence did not support a compensable rating.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss as there is no objective clinical evidence of current disability due to noise exposure in service.

The Veteran's claims for a compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss and an evaluation higher than 10 percent for tinnitus have been denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support granting either claim.

The Board has decided to remand the cases for additional development due to incomplete service treatment records and unclear medical opinions. The appellant's hearing loss and tinnitus are being reviewed again with a focus on obtaining his complete service records and providing an updated medical opinion.

The Veteran's service connection claims for coronary artery disease, hypertension (pursuant to the PACT Act), emphysema with endobronchial valve in left lung, allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, bilateral hearing loss, right shoulder condition with degenerative arthritis, a left shoulder condition with degenerative arthritis, lumbosacral disability (lumbosacral strain with degenerative disc disease), and a left knee condition are granted.,The Veteran's service connection claims for emphysema with endobronchial valve in left lung, allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, bilateral hearing loss, right shoulder condition with degenerative arthritis, a left shoulder condition with degenerative arthritis, lumbosacral disability (lumbosacral strain with degenerative disc disease), and a left knee condition are remanded.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus should be remanded due to a duty to assist error. The VA medical opinions provided were deemed inadequate, and new addendum opinions are needed.

The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeal regarding a compensable rating for right ear hearing loss. The Board granted service connection for left knee, right knee, left ankle, and right ankle disabilities.

The Veteran's TDIU claim is denied as his service-connected tinnitus alone does not render him unemployable, and the other conditions do not impact his employability.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for right ear hearing loss as there is no current disability of right ear hearing loss for VA purposes.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for a history of falling and abnormality of gait were denied as there was no evidence showing these conditions are related to his military service.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss was denied because he did not have a current disability that meets the VA criteria for hearing loss.