Hearing loss decisions — 2025

The Board granted service connection for right chest wall furuncle and sebaceous cyst with abscess, but denied service connection for right ear hearing loss disability. Other issues were remanded.

The Veteran is granted a total disability rating for compensation purposes based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities and basic eligibility to Dependents' Education Assistance under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 35.

The Board granted service connection for osteoradionecrosis, bilateral eye disability (including cataracts and glaucoma), and bilateral hearing loss. It also granted a 10% rating for hypertension, a 50% rating for chronic sinusitis with rhinitis, and a 100% rating for lymphedema. The Board denied compensable ratings for the residuals of squamous cell carcinoma of the left tonsil and neck.

The Board granted service connection for tinnitus and an initial rating of 30 percent for sclerosing mesenteritis and mesenteric lymphadenitis, while denying service connection for hearing loss and sleep apnea.

The Board granted a total disability rating for compensation purposes based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities and basic eligibility to Dependents' Education Assistance benefits.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial compensable rating for her left ear hearing loss, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error, requiring an addendum opinion that considers the Veteran's lay statements regarding the onset and continuity of symptomology.

The Board denied a compensable rating for the Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss based on audiometric test results that did not meet the criteria for a compensable disability rating.

The Board granted service connection for a back disability and right lower extremity radiculopathy, but denied service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss based on the results of a December 2023 VA examination and the lack of evidence showing a more severe disability.

The Board denied the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss due to a lack of new and relevant evidence, but granted the claim for tinnitus based on new evidence indicating that the Veteran's tinnitus began in service.

The Board granted service connection for tinnitus but denied it for bilateral hearing loss.

The Board granted a 50 percent disability rating for the service-connected lumbosacral strain, denied an increased rating in excess of 10 percent for bilateral plantar fasciitis, and denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss.

The Board denied the Veteran's request to readjudicate previously denied claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, as new and relevant evidence had not been received since the February 2017 rating decision.

The Board granted service connection for a left knee condition and denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss. Several other issues were remanded for further development.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss, as the evidence did not support a higher rating.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss as the evidence did not support a finding of a current disability for VA purposes.

The Board remands the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss to obtain a thorough medical opinion addressing the Veteran's lay statements and other evidence of record.

The Board remands the claims for service connection and initial disability ratings due to a duty to assist error, as well as entitlement to TDIU.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.