Hearing loss Board decisions

The Board found that the appellant's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his exposure to acoustic trauma during his two-week period of Active Duty for Training (ACDUTRA) in 1954, thus granting service connection for these conditions.

The Board found that the veteran's bilateral hearing loss was not caused by his military service and denied his claim for service connection.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities are not shown to be productive of a disability picture that precludes the veteran from working, and therefore he is not entitled to TDIU.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding no credible evidence of current disabilities related to his military service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to his active service, and therefore denied both claims.

The Board denied reopening of the veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, finding no new and material evidence. The veteran was not recognized as a former prisoner of war (POW).

The veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the claim for service connection for right ear hearing loss before a decision was made.

The Board has determined that the veteran's bilateral hearing loss was not incurred or aggravated in active military service, and thus denied his claim.

The Board has remanded the veteran's claims for service connection due to incomplete verification of stressors and exposure, as well as unclear medical evidence regarding hearing loss and tinnitus.

The Board found that the veteran's right ear hearing loss was not incurred in or aggravated by active service and denied his claim. The left ear hearing loss was currently diagnosed but did not meet the criteria for a compensable evaluation.

The VA determined that the veteran's bilateral hearing loss did not warrant a compensable rating, as his audiometric test results showed mild to moderately severe sensorineural hearing loss in both ears.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for further examination and evaluation to determine if his service-connected disabilities render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have hypertension, hearing loss, or tinnitus that are attributable to his active military service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and bilateral peripheral neuropathy, finding that his current auditory thresholds did not meet the criteria for VA disability benefits. The RO must be remanded to provide an examination assessing both speech recognition and auditory threshold levels.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a current hearing disability for VA purposes and there is no basis to link his tinnitus to service. Therefore, both claims of bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are denied.

The Board has determined that an effective date prior to July 29, 2002 for the award of service connection for bilateral hearing loss is not warranted as there was no claim filed within one year of separation from service.

The veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection were denied. His diabetes mellitus, type II, was not rated higher than 20 percent. Bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were not found to be related to service or service-connected conditions. Peripheral neuropathy of the upper extremities was also not found to be related to service.

The Board has remanded the case for further development and review, including consideration of new evidence related to the veteran's hearing loss claim.

The Board has determined that a rating in excess of 10 percent for bilateral hearing loss is denied as the evidence does not show hearing acuity worse than Level II in the right ear or worse than Level V in the left ear.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for bilateral hearing loss was accepted as received on August 13, 2004. The RO granted a 60% evaluation effective March 31, 2003 and later increased the rating to 80% effective October 26, 2005. The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for bilateral hearing loss was denied as it is not factually ascertainable that his hearing loss increased in severity during the year prior to August 13, 2004.