Hearing loss Board decisions

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development and consideration of the submitted evidence.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for TBI, bilateral hearing loss, left knee disability, and chemical burn of the left hand residuals have all been denied. The Board found no evidence of a current disability for VA purposes in any of these conditions.

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

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining missing service records and VA examinations to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's claimed conditions.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to obtain the Veteran's service treatment records and SSA disability benefits records, clarify the August 2011 private audiogram report, and schedule VA examinations for his claimed conditions. The case will be remanded for these actions.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss disability is not related to his military service, as evidenced by normal audiometric results at both induction and separation.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss has been rated as noncompensable since the effective date of service connection. The left knee disability was also rated as noncompensable, with a higher rating granted in March 2003. The claim for TDIU is denied.

The Board found that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to service, while his knee, hip, low back, and cervical spine disorders are related to service. The Veteran's claims for these conditions were denied.

The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to incomplete records and need for clarification on certain medical findings.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection were denied. The Board found no current left knee disability, and the Veteran's deviated nasal septum was not manifested by complete obstruction on one side or 100% obstruction of both sides. For PTSD, the symptoms did not meet criteria for a higher rating. For bilateral hearing loss, there was no evidence of more than Level II hearing in either ear.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss has been evaluated as non-compensable throughout the appeal period, with no worse than level I hearing in both ears.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the issue of entitlement to a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran's hypertension, erectile dysfunction, and BPH are found to be related to his service-connected diabetes mellitus.,Service connection is granted for bilateral hearing loss as it is at least as likely as not that the condition was incurred during active duty.

The Board finds that additional evidentiary development is necessary before the Board can adjudicate the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus. The case is REMANDED to obtain an addendum VA medical opinion from a qualified examiner to determine if the Veteran's in-service incidents of multiple close proximity explosions and constant (daily) exposure to loud noise from heavy generators could result in or aggravate his current hearing loss and tinnitus.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for major depressive disorder has been withdrawn.,Service connection is granted for right ear hearing loss, as the evidence supports a finding that it was incurred during active duty due to acoustic trauma.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, headaches, meningitis, septicemia, and sinusitis. The evidence submitted was found to be cumulative or redundant and did not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating any of these claims.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD was granted effective July 13, 2010. The Board finds that the Veteran is entitled to an earlier effective date of July 13, 2010.

The Veteran's service connection claims for sleep apnea, hypertension, BPH, symptomatic bradycardia with pacemaker, asthma, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus have been granted.,Service connection is established for bilateral hearing loss due to acoustic trauma during service.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for a VA ENT examination and additional treatment records, as well as further consideration of the Veteran's claim.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and Type II Diabetes Mellitus due to additional development being necessary.