Hearing loss decisions — 2024

The Board has found the AOJ's reliance on a VA examination citing an IOM article to be inadequate due to lack of rationale. The Veteran's hearing loss had delayed onset, but the VA examiner did not provide sufficient explanation for this conclusion based on McCray v. Wilkie. Therefore, further medical development is needed.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been denied as there is no evidence of current disabilities or a causal link to his military service. The Board has also remanded several issues related to anxiety, depression with insomnia, PTSD, vertigo, and sleep apnea due to potential exposure to toxins during service.

The Board has determined that there are errors in the decision and needs to be remanded for further examination and opinion regarding the Veteran's hearing loss.

The Board has denied the readjudication of service connection claims for hearing loss, tinnitus, left knee patellofemoral pain syndrome, and depression as there is no new and relevant evidence to support these claims.

The Veteran's claims for an initial compensable rating for left ear hearing loss and a higher rating for tinnitus have been denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support entitlement to these ratings.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include unspecified depressive disorder, is granted. The claims for bilateral hearing loss and skin rashes are denied. The claim for chronic left knee injury-joint pain is remanded.

The Board has granted service connection for left ear hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to his military service due to noise exposure.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability is not considered a current disability under VA criteria.,There is no credible evidence of an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, related to service. The Veteran did not identify any in-service stressors or events.

The Veteran's hearing loss is currently rated at a noncompensable zero percent. The Board has remanded the claim of service connection for right eye condition due to insufficient medical evidence.

The Veteran's service-connected right ear sensorineural hearing loss is currently rated as noncompensable, and the Board finds that a compensable rating is not warranted based on the evidence of record.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is related to his military service and grants entitlement to service connection for this condition.

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

The Board dismissed the Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates as they were subsumed by prior decisions, and there was no legal merit to claim of clear and unmistakable error (CUE) in the July 1969 rating decision.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, but has remanded the claim for bilateral hearing loss due to inadequate VA examination results. The Veteran is seeking service connection for both conditions.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss as there is no current diagnosis of a disability meeting VA criteria.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss did not onset during service or within one year of separation, and is not otherwise etiologically related to his period of service. The evidence does not support a finding of service connection for this condition.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss as there was no evidence of a current disability meeting VA criteria during the appeal period.

The Veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for her bilateral hearing loss is being remanded due to the failure to obtain a VA examination after she filed a supplemental claim.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for glaucoma, Parkinson's disease, and dementia due to potential TERA exposure. The rating for bilateral hearing loss is also being remanded.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims due to a lack of access to certain medical records stored in Vista Imaging or similar repositories. The AOJ is instructed to obtain and associate with the claims file complete updated clinical records, including those from VA and non-VA treatment providers.