Hearing loss Board decisions

The Board finds that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss disability is at least as likely as not related to his active service, including noise exposure during military service.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for additional development due to inadequate opinions regarding his hearing loss, tinnitus, and traumatic brain injury.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for left ear hearing loss, right ear hearing loss, tinnitus, and vertigo. The evidence did not support a finding that any of these conditions were related to service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current disability of bilateral hearing loss or tinnitus that is related to his active duty service. The evidence shows no in-service hearing loss and no significant threshold shift in hearing, with normal audiometric results at separation from service.

The Board has ordered a new VA examination to address whether the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to service, including noise exposure during service.

The Board has reopened the claim of service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability and found that new and material evidence has been presented. However, the Board denied the underlying claim as there is no competent medical evidence showing a nexus between the Veteran's current hearing loss disability and his active service.

The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus did not manifest in service or within one year thereafter, and are not otherwise related to service. The claims were denied as there was no showing of chronicity during service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's tinnitus is related to service, while his bilateral hearing loss is not. The Veteran's tinnitus was incurred in service, and he had a pre-existing right ear hearing loss disability which did not worsen during service.

The Board has remanded the case for further action due to ambiguity in the December 2012 VA examiner's opinion regarding the Veteran's military noise exposure and a need for another VA examination.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including scheduling a VA examination and readjudicating the claims.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is pending, but the Board has not addressed it due to a remand. The initial compensable disability rating for hypertension was denied.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and right knee disorder, but assigned no effective date as the evidence does not indicate a clear date of injury or onset.

The Veteran's appeal for earlier effective dates for the award of service connection for PTSD on the basis of CUE and earlier effective dates for the award of service connection for various conditions was dismissed because his substantive appeal was not timely filed.

The Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities prior to October 21, 2011 is denied as the evidence does not show that he was unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment due to his service-connected conditions.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed in order to make a determination on the Veteran's claims, including obtaining VA treatment records and conducting further examinations.

The Board has determined that the evidence is in equipoise as to whether the Veteran's service connection claims for mitochondrial degeneration, Meniere's disease, bilateral macular degeneration, disorders affecting the bilateral lower extremity (peroneus brevis muscular myopathy and superficial peroneal nerve neuropathy), bilateral hearing loss, and bilateral upper extremity neuropathy are related to his military service. As such, these claims have been granted.

The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for the grants of service connection for melasma, chronic bronchitis, and sensorineural hearing loss have been denied as they are not earlier than November 18, 2009.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining updated VA examination reports to assess the severity of his pulmonary asbestosis and bilateral hearing loss disabilities.

The Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is not considered to be related to his active service, as there was no evidence of permanent threshold shift or noise-induced hearing loss during service. The claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied.

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