Hearing loss Board decisions

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any currently present heart disability. The issues on appeal will be readjudicated after all necessary steps are taken.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's service connection claim for bilateral hearing loss and determined that new and material evidence has been received. The Board also found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability is related to his military noise exposure during service.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including a VA examination and a videoconference hearing. The Veteran's claim of service connection for peripheral vestibular disorder and its secondary relationship to bilateral sensorineural hearing loss is pending.

The Board found that the Veteran's pes planus did not increase in severity during service and denied his claim for service connection. The other issues were either withdrawn or addressed.

The Board found that the Veteran's pre-existing bilateral hearing loss did not worsen during service, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss has been rated at 20 percent since March 2010. The Board found that the evidence is in equipoise as to whether a higher rating should be assigned, and thus denied an increased rating.

The Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of an acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD. Insomnia and headaches were not continuous or recurrent in service or since separation; tinnitus was not diagnosed within one year of separation from service; and there is no medical nexus between the current insomnia, headaches, or tinnitus and either active service or a service-connected disability.,The Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of bilateral hearing loss. The preexisting left ear hearing loss at enlistment was not permanently worsened by active service.

The Veteran's bilateral plantar fasciitis has been rated at 30% since May 15, 2011, and he is now entitled to a combined 60% disability rating for his foot injuries.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim of service connection for a thoracolumbar disability, but remanded to obtain additional development. The claims for tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss, right shin splints, left shin splints, and left knee injury are also remanded.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current tinnitus began in and has persisted since active service. Service connection for bilateral hearing loss is addressed in the REMAND portion of the decision.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus has been granted. The Board found that the Veteran had a confirmed in-service stressor related to his motor vehicle accident and was diagnosed with PTSD. As such, service connection is granted.

The Veteran's hearing loss has been rated as noncompensable due to the average puretone threshold at 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000 Hertz being Level I in the right ear and Level III in the left ear. The VA examiner found no exceptional pattern of hearing impairment.

The Board has determined that a new VA medical opinion is needed to assess whether the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability is related to his service, including due to in-service noise exposure.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, as well as his DVTs and CVA, necessitate the need for aid and attendance assistance. The Board grants SMC based on the need for regular aid and attendance of another person.

The Veteran's claim for increased evaluations for bilateral hearing loss and right knee disability was denied. The Veteran's hearing loss manifested in no greater than Level I hearing loss bilaterally, while his right knee disability had a full range of motion as determined by the VA examination.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional examinations and evaluations of his service-connected disabilities, specifically his back disability and left ear hearing loss.

The Board has determined that the submitted evidence does not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, as it is cumulative or does not relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate these claims.

The Veteran's appeal has been withdrawn, and the claims of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus have been dismissed.

The Veteran has withdrawn his appeal for an initial compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess the severity of his bilateral hearing loss and whether his imbalance disability is related to service or secondary to his hearing loss.