Hearing loss Board decisions

The Board denied requests for earlier effective dates for the grant of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the earliest date of receipt was February 13, 2017.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim for service connection of left ear hearing loss due to potential errors in obtaining his National Guard service records and VA examinations not addressing the relationship between right ear hearing loss and left ear hearing loss.

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

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to multiple pre-decisional duty to assist errors, including incorrect social security numbers and missing military records. Additional evidence is needed to determine the relationship between his conditions and active duty.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for lumbar spine stenosis L4/L5; L3/L4 and bilateral hearing loss due to duty-to-assist errors. The examiner is asked to provide an addendum opinion regarding whether the Veteran's preexisting lumbar condition was aggravated by service, and to opine on the likelihood of a current disability being related to service.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to errors in pre-decisional duty to assist and inadequate VA examiner's nexus opinions concerning the Veteran's right and left ear hearing loss.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection for right ear hearing loss before the Board could make a decision.

The Board has granted service connection for left ear hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the evidence is at least evenly balanced as to whether these conditions had their onset during service.

The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of substantial compliance with previous remand orders and the need for an addendum opinion addressing conflicting medical research.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including his DDD involving the lumbosacral spine and related radiculopathy conditions, have rendered him unable to secure or maintain substantially gainful employment since December 1, 2011.

The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeals for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and bilateral tinnitus due to the Veteran withdrawing his appeal prior to a decision being made.

The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of substantial compliance with previous remand directives regarding obtaining VA treatment records from Lovell Health Care Facility.

The Board has remanded the cases for additional development and examination, as the prior instructions were not followed.

The Board has determined that additional evidence must be considered before a final decision can be made on the Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining an addendum medical opinion to address the etiology of the Veteran's current hearing loss and tinnitus.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining medical records and arranging for a VA examiner to provide an opinion regarding his heart disability since April 2016.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for a TDIU rating on an extraschedular basis at any time during the appeal period.

The Board has remanded the case for referral to VA's Director of Compensation Service for extraschedular consideration due to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities potentially preventing him from securing and maintaining substantially gainful employment.

The Board denied the Veteran's request for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that there was no indication of a prior claim or communication from the Veteran before September 24, 2014.

The Veteran's tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss are granted as service-connected. The Board found the Veteran credible in his testimony regarding noise exposure during service, leading to a finding of service connection for these conditions.