Hearing loss Board decisions

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection have been rendered moot due to the complete grant of benefits sought on appeal.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been granted, encompassing all her listed conditions as part of the grant for fibromyalgia/polyarthralgia. The specific disabilities are not shown to be related to service.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus. For chronic fatigue syndrome, the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether it was incurred during military service due to exposure to environmental hazards in the Gulf War.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current disability for any of his claimed conditions, and thus cannot establish service connection.

The Veteran is seeking an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, which was granted in June 2010. The case has been remanded due to a claim of clear and unmistakable error (CUE) in the April 1999 rating decision denying service connection.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's right and left ear hearing loss disabilities are service-connected, with the right ear hearing loss being attributed to aggravation by in-service acoustic trauma and the left ear hearing loss being due to noise exposure during basic training.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his active service, granting service connection for both conditions.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development to obtain missing service treatment records, a new VA audiological examination, and an in-person cardiac examination. The issues of entitlement to service connection for hearing loss and tinnitus, as well as the rating for ischemic heart disease, will be reconsidered after these actions.

The Veteran's service connection claim for left ear hearing loss was denied as there is no evidence of a chronic disability during or within one year after service, and the current condition is not related to military service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining service treatment records and VA examinations to determine the etiology of his claimed disabilities.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, and finds that both conditions are related to his period of active duty.

The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were not incurred or aggravated by his period of active service. The Veteran's left ear hearing loss was noted at entry but improved during service, while right ear hearing loss did not worsen during service.

The Veteran withdrew his appeals regarding the issues of entitlement to a rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD and entitlement to a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss prior to their decision.

The Board has determined that service connection is warranted for the Veteran's right shoulder disorder, but not for his bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is manifested by no more than level I impairment in the right ear and level I impairment in the left ear, resulting in a non-compensable rating. The Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence does not support a compensable evaluation for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran's appeal for a higher evaluation for his bilateral hearing loss disability was dismissed as the appellant withdrew his appeal regarding an earlier effective date. The Board found that he is currently rated at 10% for both ears, which is the maximum rating available under VA regulations.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for clarification of a private audiometric test and for additional VA medical opinions regarding his hearing loss disability and tinnitus.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his in-service noise exposure, thus granting service connection for these conditions.

The Veteran has withdrawn his appeal regarding the evaluations for bilateral hearing loss and residuals of a left calf gunshot wound, citing dissatisfaction with the outcome or process. As such, the Board is dismissing the appeal.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, left knee disorder, right knee disorder, and psychiatric disorder (including PTSD). The Board found no evidence of a chronic condition during service or within one year after service separation. The VA opinions provided were against a nexus between current disabilities and active service.