Hearing loss Board decisions

The Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is related to military service, and the Board grants service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's claim for an initial, noncompensable rating for bilateral hearing loss was granted by the RO in July 2011 and assigned effective November 12, 2010. The Veteran appealed this decision.

The Board has remanded the case for further development due to inadequate opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's tinnitus.

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

The Veteran's service-connected hearing loss and tinnitus have rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, as they prevent him from engaging in employment that would be suitable for his education and experience.

The Board finds that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his active service, including exposure to noise during his job as an aircraft mechanic. The criteria for service connection have been met.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim to restore service connection for a hearing loss disability, finding that the May 2007 award of service connection was not clearly and unmistakably erroneous. The issue of entitlement to TDIU is remanded due to the need for additional development.

The Veteran has withdrawn his appeals for all issues except for the initial evaluation higher than 10 percent for hypertension. As a result, these claims are dismissed.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus is being remanded due to incomplete development of the claims file, including a need for another VA audiological examination.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that there is no evidence to support a link between these conditions and his military service.

The Board has granted a rating of 40 percent for intervertebral disc syndrome and L5-S1 DDD effective October 22, 2008. The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is found to be related to service.

The Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are being remanded due to the need for additional development of his VA treatment records, including those from July 2007 to March 2012. The case will be reviewed again after these records have been obtained.

The Board denied service connection for left ear hearing loss, finding that the Veteran's current hearing loss did not occur during his military service and was more likely due to other factors such as civilian noise exposure.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss disability is not shown to be manifested by puretone threshold averages and/or speech recognition scores that translate to higher than a Level II designation in either ear, thus the claim for an initial compensable rating has been denied.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have not prevented him from securing and following substantially gainful employment prior to April 27, 2011.

The VA determined that the Veteran does not have a current bilateral hearing loss disability and thus, denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's appeal has been withdrawn, and the case is dismissed.

The Board has remanded the case due to the Veteran's request for a personal hearing. The claims of reopening service connection for hearing loss, right ear and tinnitus are still pending.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining missing service records and scheduling VA examinations to assess his hearing loss and skin disorder.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to his failure to appear for a scheduled hearing and because the type of hearing requested (videoconference or Travel Board) has not been clarified.