Hearing loss Board decisions

The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability, increases in staged ratings for sacroiliac injury and weakness with intervertebral disc syndrome (back disability), a rating in excess of 20 percent for right lower extremity femoral nerve radiculopathy, and a rating in excess of 20 percent for right lower extremity sciatic nerve radiculopathy. The issues are also remanded to obtain additional medical records and provide the Veteran with another VA examination.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional examinations and evaluations.

The Board has denied service connection for right and left knee conditions, but granted service connection for tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability, finding no current diagnosis of this condition and not establishing any chronic symptoms or continuous post-service symptoms.

The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including hearing loss and tinnitus, due to the lack of evidence showing an increase in disability during service. Service connection was not granted as the Veteran's preexisting hearing loss did not undergo any progression during his active duty.

The Board has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's claims, including effective date determinations and service connection for various disabilities. The appeal remains in appellate status.

The appeal of the service connection claim for kidney stones is dismissed.,The appeal of the service connection claim for sinusitis is dismissed.

The Board has remanded the claim for service connection for right ear hearing loss disability due to an inability to obtain VA treatment records from certain facilities. The Veteran is advised of his responsibility to provide these records or request further assistance.

The Board has remanded the claims for tinnitus, nightmare disorder, bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, and low back disability due to incomplete procedures.

The Board has remanded the issues of entitlement to service connection for left ear hearing loss, right ear hearing loss, tinnitus, low back condition, left knee condition, and right knee condition due to incomplete service treatment records. The Veteran's current diagnoses do not meet VA criteria for hearing loss as defined by VA regulations.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus as secondary to service-connected bilateral hearing loss, finding that the Veteran's current disabilities are related to his in-service noise exposure.

The appeal as to service connection for sleep disturbance and anxiety disorder is dismissed.,The appeals as to the remaining issues are remanded for further development.

The Board denied a compensable initial rating for right ear hearing loss as there was no change in the rating due to how hearing loss is calculated when it affects only one ear.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss disability is denied. The Board found that the evidence did not warrant a compensable rating prior to July 23, 2019 and a rating in excess of 10 percent since then.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and acquired psychiatric disorder require additional development due to ambiguities in the examination reports and challenges regarding the competency of the examiners.

The Board has determined that the evidence is in equipoise as to whether the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability was related to his military service, and therefore grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has decided that service connection for left ear hearing loss is granted, but the right ear hearing loss claim remains pending and requires further development.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a right ear hearing loss disability, finding that he does not have a current diagnosis of such a disability.

The Board has granted the Veteran's petition to reopen his claim for service connection for right ear hearing loss and has determined that he meets the criteria for service connection based on in-service noise exposure. The Veteran now has a current diagnosis of right ear hearing loss.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus but has remanded the issue of service connection for bilateral hearing loss due to lack of recent medical records and need for a new examination.