Hearing loss Board decisions

The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was not caused by or a result of his service-connected conditions, including PTSD. The cause of death listed in the VA donor note was cardiopulmonary arrest, which is less likely than not related to any service-connected condition.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to his in-service noise exposure, as evidenced by VA examinations conducted in November 2011 and November 2014. The evidence does not support a finding of service connection for these conditions.

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

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

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his service, including exposure to noise during his deployment in Afghanistan. As a result, the claims for service connection have been granted.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is the result of in-service noise exposure and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has determined that the Veteran had tinnitus present in service and continued after service, granting service connection for tinnitus. Bilateral hearing loss was not granted as it is presumed to have been pre-existing.

The Board found that the Veteran's current hearing loss disability, which was first demonstrated many years after service, did not have its onset or result from his military service, including alleged noise exposure.

The Board found that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, tinnitus, and hearing loss, do not render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation. As such, the appeal for TDIU was denied.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not prevent him from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's left ear hearing loss is currently assigned a noncompensable evaluation prior to April 28, 2015 and a 10 percent evaluation on and after that date. The appeal for higher evaluations has been denied.

The Veteran's PTSD was granted service connection and assigned a 70 percent rating effective September 8, 2009. The Veteran is also entitled to an increased rating for lumbosacral strain with degenerative disc disease from September 18, 2009.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss as he does not have a current disability for VA purposes.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate VA examination and a need for another opinion concerning the etiology of the Veteran's hearing loss. The claim will be returned to the AOJ for further development.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining VA and private medical records, as well as vocational rehabilitation records. The Veteran's unemployability claim will be reconsidered based on the updated evidence.

The Board finds that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability does not warrant a rating higher than 10 percent prior to October 31, 2014 and a rating of 30 percent since October 31, 2014.

The Board found that the Veteran's current right ear hearing loss is not related to his military service, as there was no significant threshold shift in the right ear during service and the first evidence of right ear hearing loss occurred many years after service. Therefore, the claim for service connection for right ear hearing loss was denied.

The Board found that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss disability is not related to his military service, including noise exposure.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining the VA audiological examination report and scheduling a new VA examination. The claim will be readjudicated after these actions.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are granted as service-connected, with the Board finding that these conditions are related to his military noise exposure.