Hearing loss Board decisions

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for a Travel Board hearing. The claims of service connection for various disabilities remain pending.

The Board has remanded the case due to scheduling issues and will be reconsidered by the RO.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for heart disability, diabetes mellitus, tremors, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus. The evidence did not establish in-service exposure to herbicides or other events that could link these conditions to service.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim of service connection for bilateral hearing loss. However, the Veteran's current diagnosis of bilateral sensorineural hearing loss is not related to his active military service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for a new VA examination to assess the current severity of his service-connected bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to his military service, and thus denied both claims for service connection.

The Board finds that the reduction of the Veteran's 100 percent rating for bilateral hearing loss to noncompensable effective September 1, 2009 was proper as it was then shown that improvement in his condition would be maintained under ordinary conditions of life.

The VA determined that the Veteran's left ear hearing loss is not related to his military service, specifically noting no significant threshold shifts in the left ear during service and no evidence of a hearing disability at separation. The Board concurs with this determination.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling a new VA examination to assess the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran's right ear hearing loss was not shown during service or within one year of separation, and there is no evidence linking the current condition to service. The Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence is against the claim for service connection.

The Veteran's initial claim for an initial compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss was granted, and he is now service connected with a 10 percent rating effective October 29, 2006.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for right ear hearing loss and an initial compensable disability rating for left ear hearing loss have been denied by the Board.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for TDIU based on his service-connected disabilities, including a newly service-connected right lower extremity radiculopathy.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for an increased rating for bilateral hearing loss on an extraschedular basis and for entitlement to TDIU. The evidence did not support granting these claims.

The Veteran's hearing impairment has been no worse than Level I in the right ear and Level I in the left ear. Significant daily functional impairment has not been demonstrated, resulting in a noncompensable disability rating for bilateral hearing loss.

The Board found that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is not related to his military service, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran is seeking service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, which he claims are related to in-service noise exposure. The case has been remanded for additional development including obtaining updated treatment records and a VA audiological examination.

The Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is at least as likely as not related to his in-service noise exposure, and service connection for this condition is granted.

The Veteran has withdrawn his appeal for the issues of service connection for a thoracolumbar spine disability, bilateral knee disability, bilateral foot disability, bilateral hearing loss disability, tinnitus, and skin disability. The appeal is dismissed.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is etiologically related to service and grants service connection for this condition.