Hearing loss decisions — 2024

The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, low back disability, cervical spine disability, right knee disability, left knee disability, right leg disability, and left leg disability due to incomplete service treatment records. The Veteran's service connection claims are being returned for further review with additional examinations.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the evidence is in equipoise as to whether these conditions are related to military noise exposure. The Veteran's active duty MOS of light weapons infantry was considered highly probable for hazardous noise exposure.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for further evaluation of his bilateral hearing loss and service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability. The Board notes that the current rating for his hearing loss does not account for his functional impairment due to depression and anxiety caused by wearing hearing aids.

The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to in-service noise exposure. The Veteran's STRs do not show any evidence of hearing loss or tinnitus, but post-service treatment records indicate these conditions have been diagnosed.,For tinnitus specifically, the March 2020 VA examination found that it is at least as likely as not related to his service-connected bilateral recurrent tinnitus. The examiner noted there was no significant shift in hearing and no evidence of permanent auditory damage during service.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for asbestosis with pleural thick thickness and bilateral hearing loss were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for higher disability ratings under applicable rating schedules.

The Board has granted service connection for right ear hearing loss, finding that the Veteran's current condition is related to his military service. However, left ear hearing loss was not found to be present at a level meeting VA criteria for disability.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's right ear hearing loss. The Veteran is seeking service connection for this condition, which he claims was caused by noise exposure during his military service.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, have rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation since March 19, 2021.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for cervical strain, neuropathy of the right lower extremity, and neuropathy of the left lower extremity due to inadequate opinions in the May 2021 VA examination. The Veteran's reports of injuries during service are considered credible.

The Veteran's death was not caused by or related to any service-connected conditions. The appellant is granted a nonservice-connected burial allowance but denied a plot or interment allowance due to the lack of evidence that the Veteran's cremains were interred.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted, and the claim for an initial compensable rating for epiretinal membrane in his left eye is remanded.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, but dismissed the appeal regarding unspecified restrictive lung disease as moot due to a prior grant of service connection.

Your claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss has been dismissed as the January 2021 Board decision is final and no further appeal was filed.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the relationship between the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and his military service. The examiner is asked to provide an opinion on whether the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is related to his conceded acoustic trauma in service, including his reports of ringing in his ears that affects his ability to hear starting during Operation El Dorado Canyon.

The Veteran's appeal for a cervical disability, right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, sleep disturbances (including obstructive sleep apnea), and bilateral hearing loss has been dismissed due to procedural defects.,The Veteran's appeal for service connection for the cervical disability was not timely filed within one year of the March 2017 rating decision.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied. The Board has remanded the claim of service connection for lung cancer due to a failure to obtain an opinion regarding its etiology.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for tinnitus is granted. The claim for left elbow disability and bilateral hearing loss is denied.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus but denied service connection for left ear hearing loss and remanded the issue of right ear hearing loss. The Veteran's tinnitus is related to her active duty, while there is no evidence of current left or right ear hearing loss that meets VA criteria.

The Veteran's left ear hearing loss is rated as noncompensable, and the Board finds that this rating is appropriate based on the audiometric test results provided.

The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is denied as his test results indicate Level I hearing loss in both ears, which corresponds to a noncompensable rating.