Hearing loss decisions — 2025

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and somatic system disorder. The claims for shortness of breath, ache in chest and cough, erectile dysfunction, and TMJ dysfunction were remanded.

The veteran withdrew the appeal for all service connection and rating issues, and the Board has no jurisdiction to review these matters.

The Board denied service connection for hearing loss as the evidence did not support a causal relationship between the Veteran's current condition and his military service.

The Board denied an initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss and remanded the service connection claims for vertigo, dry eye syndrome, and various bilateral conditions due to insufficient evidence.

The Board remands the case to obtain a medical opinion that adequately addresses the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability and reconciles any conflicting information in the evidence of record.

The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including tension headaches, bilateral plantar fasciitis, and a bilateral hearing loss disability. The Board also denied an initial compensable rating for the Veteran's headache disability.

The Board remands the claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to an unclear employment history and a pre-decisional duty to assist error.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for epidermoid tumor, hearing loss, vision loss, and stroke due to an inadequate examination.

The Veteran was granted a 40 percent rating for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss from February 8, 2022 to March 5, 2024, but denied a compensable rating prior to that date and in excess of 40 percent thereafter.

The Board granted service connection for ear pain, finding it to be proximately due to the Veteran's service-connected tinnitus.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss as there was no evidence of significant threshold shifts in either ear during active duty and a medical opinion stated that the Veteran's hearing loss is less likely than not attributable to in-service noise exposure.

The Board remands the issue of entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) for further development and readjudication.

The Board granted service connection for left ear hearing loss, finding the evidence to be in approximate balance regarding its relation to military service.

The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including HIV infection, bilateral hearing loss, traumatic brain injury (TBI), sight impairment, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with unspecified depressive disorder.

The Board granted service connection for left ear hearing loss, right knee pain (bilateral knee condition), left knee pain (bilateral knee condition), chronic right hip pain (bilateral hip condition), left hip condition (bilateral hip condition), rectal cancer (colon cancer), chronic fecal incontinence (bowel condition), and urinary incontinence. The claims for service connection for right ear hearing loss, ischemic heart disease, and diabetes mellitus Type II were remanded.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and earlier effective dates, finding no legal basis to award higher ratings or earlier effective dates.

The Board grants service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that the evidence is in relative equipoise as to whether the appellant's current bilateral hearing loss is causally related to his active service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss based on the results of a controlled Maryland Consonant-Vowel-Nucleus-Consonant (CNC) speech discrimination test and pure tone audiometry tests.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for degenerative joint disease and intervertebral disc syndrome, cervical spine; cervical spine radiculopathy, right upper extremity; coronary artery disease; and right ear hearing loss.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and remanded the claim for a VA examination regarding bilateral ear disfigurement.