Hearing loss decisions — 2025

The Board denied service connection for several conditions, granted service connection for tinnitus, and remanded claims for right ear hearing loss and OSA.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for an earlier effective date for bilateral hearing loss and service connection for vitiligo, finding no evidence of worsening symptoms or a link to in-service exposure.

The Board denied service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability, a gastrointestinal disorder, obstructive sleep apnea, and a thoracic spine disorder. The effective date for increased evaluations and new grants of service connection were also denied.

The Board remands the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss due to an inadequate medical opinion.

The Board granted service connection for right ear hearing loss and a rating of 10 percent, but no more, for bilateral hearing loss.

The Board granted service connection for the left shoulder condition and lumbar spine condition, but denied a compensable rating for the right ring finger fracture residuals and service connection for bilateral hearing loss, left elbow tendonitis, and right shoulder condition.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus for additional development, including obtaining a new medical opinion that addresses specific requirements.

The Board denied an initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss based on the audiometric and speech recognition scores not meeting the criteria for a higher rating.

The Board denied an initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss based on the results of a controlled Maryland CNC speech discrimination test and pure tone audiometry tests.

The appeal was dismissed due to the Veteran's death before a decision could be made.

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

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, IBS, left hip disability, right hip disability, left knee disability, and right knee disability. The effective date of March 7, 2022, was granted for the award of service connection for right lower extremity sciatica, and November 18, 2021, was granted for GERD.

The Veteran's claim for a higher level of special monthly compensation (SMC) was denied as the evidence did not show that he required personal health-care services provided on a daily basis in his home by a person who is licensed to provide such services or under the regular supervision of a licensed health-care professional.

The Board denied an initial compensable rating for left hearing loss and remanded claims for service connection for right ear hearing loss and anxiety disorder as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected conditions.

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

The Board granted service connection for a thoracolumbar spine disability, dismissed the claim for hearing loss in the right ear, and denied a compensable initial rating for hearing loss in the left ear. The claim for dry eye syndrome was remanded for further development.

The Board granted service connection for right hip, neck, left knee, and left shoulder disabilities but denied service connection for a left hip disability, back disability, PCOS, and bilateral hearing loss.

The appeal for service connection for inguinal hernia, hypertension, left shoulder condition, and vision impairment was dismissed due to untimely filing of the notice of disagreement. The claims for headaches, OSA, IBS, and bilateral hearing loss were denied as there is no evidence linking these conditions to military service.

The Board granted a 20 percent rating for right knee strain and a 30 percent rating for chronic sinusitis, while denying increased ratings for other conditions.

The Board granted an earlier effective date of October 19, 2021, for the award of service connection for tinnitus but denied all other claims for service connection and special monthly compensation.