Hearing loss decisions — 2024

The Board has denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and remanded the issue of service connection for an eye disorder. The case is being returned to the Board for further development.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus. The claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, heart disorder, and vertigo are remanded due to the need for additional examinations and opinions.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) prior to August 3, 2022, finding that there was no reasonable possibility of unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran withdrew his claims for sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and colon cancer. The Board dismissed the appeal as a result of the withdrawal.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there is no evidence of a chronic disability in service or within the applicable presumptive period. The Board also found that continuity of symptomatology was not established and that the current hearing loss is not otherwise etiologically related to an in-service injury or disease.

The Board has found that the VA did not substantially comply with its prior remand orders regarding scheduling of medical examinations for the Veteran's service connection claims. The appeals are therefore being returned to the AOJ for further development.

The Veteran's left ear hearing loss is granted as service-connected, with the Board finding that it is related to hazardous noise exposure during ACDUTRA service.,Tinnitus secondary to service-connected left ear hearing loss is also granted. The Board found that tinnitus is caused by his now service-connected left ear hearing loss.

The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection of various conditions, including a right shoulder condition, back condition, bilateral knee condition, skin cancer, neck disorder, prostate disorder, otitis externa, and left ear hearing loss. The issues have been withdrawn by the Veteran.

The Board has remanded the claims for diabetes mellitus, sinus disability, acquired psychiatric disability (MDD, PTSD), cirrhosis of the liver, facial injury with six teeth missing, right eye injury, tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss, and TBI. The issues are being returned to the RO/AMC for further development.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that there is no evidence of disability during his period of active duty training (ACDUTRA).

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him unemployable from November 15, 2018 to January 10, 2020. From January 10, 2020 onwards, he is in receipt of a 100% rating for PTSD with opioid use disorder.

The Veteran's service-connected PTSD, along with his hearing loss and tinnitus, did not prevent him from securing or following substantially gainful employment.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not render him incapable of securing or following substantially gainful employment at any time during the period on appeal, and thus denied his claim for a TDIU.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss was denied because there was no evidence of current hearing loss. The claim for tinnitus was reopened due to new and relevant evidence.,Service connection for tinnitus is granted, with the Board finding that it is at least as likely as not related to in-service hazardous noise exposure.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for a right foot disability is dismissed.,Service connection for tinnitus has been granted, as it is related to in-service noise exposure.

Your appeal for service connection for sensorineural hearing loss, bilateral has been dismissed due to the Veteran's death. The Board does not make any findings on the merits of this appeal or any derivative claim brought by a survivor.

The Board has received notification from the appellant that he wants to withdraw his service connection claims for bilateral hearing loss and hypercholesterolemia. As a result, these claims are dismissed.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied as there is no evidence of a current disability.,Service connection for an upper respiratory infection (URI) is denied due to lack of persuasive evidence showing the presence of such condition during or within one year after separation from service.,The Veteran's claim for left leg varicose veins is remanded as VA did not provide a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of his claimed condition.,Service connection for TMJ is remanded as VA did not provide a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of his claimed condition.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right ear hearing loss, eye disability, hernia disability, hypertension, right shoulder disability, left shoulder disability, cervical spine disability, sleep apnea, and skin cancer due to a lack of evidence showing these conditions during his period of active duty. The claims are being remanded to obtain information about the Veteran's periods of service.