Hearing loss decisions — 2026

The Board has determined that the Veteran's left ear hearing loss is related to his active service, and thus grants service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's headaches are granted service connection as they are secondary to his service-connected temporomandibular disorder (TMD). The acquired psychiatric disorder (claimed as PTSD) is denied due to lack of in-service disease or injury. Service connection for left hip, right hip, and cervical spine disabilities is also denied.

The Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss, right ankle disability, and lumbar spine disability have been denied. The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD and unspecified depressive disorder with anxious distress), as well as cold weather injury residuals of the hands and knees.,Service connection is not granted for bilateral hearing loss due to lack of in-service diagnosis or treatment, no evidence of continuity of symptomatology, and insufficient medical opinion linking current disability to service.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected, with the opinion that in-service noise exposure likely contributed to his current condition.

The Board has dismissed the appeal regarding service connection for hearing loss due to a deferred decision. The Veteran's pseudofolliculitis barbae, tinnitus, headaches, hypertension, left ankle disability, right ankle disability, left knee disability, and right knee disability have all been denied or not addressed.

The Veteran's recurrent right shoulder degenerative changes to include chronic pain are granted as secondary to the service-connected left shoulder osteoarthritis. The effective date for the award of service connection for lumbosacral strain is set at April 23, 2014.

The Veteran's initial claim for a compensable disability rating for bilateral hearing loss was denied by the RO, and his appeal to the Board resulted in no change. The VA audiometric evaluations consistently showed mild to moderate hearing loss that did not meet the criteria for a compensable rating.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty-to-assist error in obtaining an adequate medical opinion prior to the issuance of the rating decision on appeal. The Veteran's hearing loss is related to service exposure.

The Veteran's application for PCAFC was remanded due to a change in his disability rating, which now meets the criteria for eligibility.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss has been rated at 10 percent, and the Board found no evidence of a more severe condition warranting an increase in rating.

The Board has remanded the cases for further examination and opinion regarding service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and hypothyroidism, residuals of thyroid cancer status post thyroidectomy. The issues are related to presumptive exposure to herbicide agents during service.

The Veteran's lumbar and cervical spine disorders are found to be related to his active duty service.,Service connection is granted for the Veteran's lumbar and cervical spine disorders.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are due to in-service noise exposure.

The Board has determined that the appellant's right ear hearing loss is related to in-service hazardous noise exposure and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's diagnosed bilateral hearing loss is at least as likely as not related to his military service, including noise exposure during active duty. As such, the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is granted.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including coronary artery disease and right thumb ankylosis, rendered him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation from March 11, 2023, to May 13, 2025. The Board granted the TDIU claim during this period.

The Veteran's service connection claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus have been denied. The Board found no evidence of a current disability related to service, including noise exposure.,Service connection was not granted as the Veteran did not provide sufficient evidence to establish that his current hearing loss or tinnitus began during service.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus have been dismissed due to the failure to file a timely Notice of Disagreement. The appeal for an increased rating for lumbosacral strain is remanded, as are the issues regarding reactive airway disease.

The Board dismissed the appeal for bilateral hearing loss. Service connection was granted for prostate cancer, erectile dysfunction as secondary to prostate cancer, lumbar spine pain, and radiculopathy of the right lower extremity.

The Board has granted service connection for a low back condition and denied service connection for left ear hearing loss and right ear hearing loss. The decision is based on the evidence showing that the Veteran's current low back disability may be related to his in-service injury, while his bilateral hearing loss is more likely due to civilian noise exposure.