Hearing loss decisions — 2024

The Board has granted a 20 percent rating for right lower extremity (RLE) sciatic nerve pain, effective July 4, 2021. Service connection for hearing loss is denied.

The Board has remanded the case due to a failure to obtain a medical opinion on the relationship between the Veteran's osteomyelitis and his service-connected left zygoma fracture. The appellant asserts that the cause of death was related to the service-connected condition.

The Board has denied a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss and has remanded the issue of service connection for heart condition, specifically Wolff Parkinson's White Syndrome. The Veteran is required to undergo further examination to determine if his current heart condition is related to service.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is found to have started during his active duty service and the Board grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for TBI, loss of smell, and hearing loss due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The Veteran will need VA examinations to determine if his conditions are related to service.

The Veteran's service-connected PTSD with alcohol use disorder, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, bruxism, and erectile dysfunction render him in need of regular aid and attendance due to his psychiatric disability. The Board granted special monthly compensation based on the need for regular aid and assistance.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and bilateral tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are at least as likely as not related to in-service noise exposure.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability did not manifest in service or within one year of separation from active duty and is not otherwise related to service. Tinnitus was also found not to have manifested in service, be otherwise related to service, or be caused by a service-connected disability.

The Board has remanded the case for further examination and opinion regarding service connection for bilateral hearing loss due to an inadequate rationale in the previous medical opinion. Service connection for a skin disability is denied.

The Board has granted the appellant's claims for service connection for tinnitus and left ear hearing loss, finding that these conditions are related to in-service noise exposure. The appeal is remanded for a new VA examination regarding the right ear hearing loss.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not service-connected as they did not manifest during or within one year after service, and there is no evidence of a nexus to service.,The Veteran's inflammatory fibrous nodule fibrous epulis interproximal gingiva was diagnosed in service but the Board finds that it does not have a current diagnosis. The examiner must clarify whether this condition had its onset during active service or if it is any other way etiologically related to his active military service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for SMC based on aid and attendance, finding that he did not require regular aid and attendance due to his service-connected disabilities prior to March 12, 2014.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the evidence is in approximate balance regarding whether these conditions are related to noise exposure during military service.

The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection for tinnitus and hearing loss as untimely filed.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities require the need for regular aid and attendance, which qualifies him for special monthly compensation based on aid and attendance.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was evaluated as level I in the right ear and level II in the left ear, resulting in a non-compensable rating throughout the appeal period.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus claims have been denied as there is no evidence of a nexus between the conditions and service.,The Veteran's fibrosis due to Hepatitis C claim has been remanded for further examination and opinion.

The Veteran's tinnitus and right ear hearing loss are granted as service connected. The issue of left ear hearing loss is remanded.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's tinnitus claim is granted. The hearing loss claim is remanded for further examination and opinion.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of bilateral hearing loss, finding no new and relevant evidence to support readjudication.