Hearing loss decisions — 2025

The Board grants service connection for bilateral hearing loss, resolving all reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.

The Veteran is granted special monthly compensation due to the need of regular aid and attendance based on his service-connected disabilities, particularly kidney cancer and depressive disorder.

The Board granted service connection for right ear hearing loss but denied increased ratings for bilateral and hypertension.

The Board remands the Veteran's claims for further development, including obtaining Social Security Administration records and a new VA opinion regarding service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability.

The Board denied service connection for various conditions and denied increased ratings for GERD, hypertension, chronic sinusitis, non-allergic rhinitis, bilateral hearing loss, functional abdominal pain syndrome, gastric ulcers, chronic fatigue syndrome, dermatitis - hands, post-traumatic stress disorder, and an acquired psychiatric disorder. Service connection was granted for a major depressive disorder (MDD), unspecified trauma and stressor-related disorder, unspecified eating disorder, and alcohol use disorder.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and remanded the claims for a low back disorder and left lower extremity nerve disorder.

The Board remands the claim for service connection for hearing loss due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors, including failure to obtain relevant private treatment records and an adequate medical opinion.

The appeal for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus was dismissed because the Veteran withdrew his appeal in a May 2025 written statement.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and left ankle pain, and remanded the claims for increased ratings in excess of 30 percent for chronic headaches, 20 percent for a back disability, 10 percent for a neck disability, 20 percent for radiculopathy of the left upper extremity, and 10 percent for right foot plantar fasciitis, as well as service connection for a traumatic brain injury.

The Board denied service connection for a lower back condition, earlier effective dates for the grant of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and PTSD, and increased ratings for bilateral hearing loss and PTSD. The claims for service connection for right knee and left knee conditions were remanded.

The appeal of the claim for service connection for hearing loss was dismissed due to an untimely Notice of Disagreement.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a right jaw disability and remanded the claim for a right ear disability, to include hearing loss.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal for the issues of an earlier effective date, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, and an increased rating for gout.

The Board denied service connection for hearing loss as the Veteran does not have a current disability for VA purposes. The claims for service connection for PTSD, depression, and anxiety were remanded for further development.

The Board granted a 10 percent rating for left and right leg shin splints but denied an increased rating for lumbosacral strain, as well as service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, radicular pain and paresthesia of the left upper extremity, chronic cervicothoracic pain, and left knee pain.

The Board denied service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder and left ear hearing loss, but granted service connection for right ear hearing loss and left knee strain.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating or service connection for any of the conditions appealed.

The Board dismissed the veteran's appeal for service connection for a left knee condition, back condition, and bilateral hearing loss due to procedural issues and untimeliness.

The Board granted service connection for lower back pain, LLE radiculopathy, IBS, CFS, and bilateral hearing loss. The increased rating claim for PTSD was denied, and the appeal for GAD was dismissed as moot.

The Board remands the claims for further development, including obtaining an adequate opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability and alcohol abuse disorder.