Hearing loss Board decisions

The VA determined that the veteran does not have a current disability of right ear hearing loss for VA rating purposes, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has determined that the veteran's hypertension, heart disease, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, low back disability (arthritis), left knee disability, residuals of a left hand injury with tremors, and degenerative arthritis of the left shoulder were not incurred in or aggravated by active service. The claims for increased ratings are also denied.

The Board has granted an initial disability rating of 20 percent for service-connected residuals of a neck injury with degenerative changes to the cervical spine, effective from September 26, 2003. The veteran's left ear hearing loss is rated as noncompensable.

The VA denied the veteran's claim of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence of in-service noise exposure or head trauma leading to current hearing loss.

The veteran's claims for headaches, hepatitis C, and hypertension were denied. The claim for tinea versicolor was granted with a compensable rating of 30%. The claim for bilateral hearing loss was denied.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a current disability of right ear hearing loss for VA purposes, and thus service connection cannot be granted.

The Board has granted the petition to reopen the claims for service connection for bilateral pes planus and bilateral hearing loss, and remanded the reopened claim of service connection for bilateral hearing loss to the RO.

The Board found that the veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is not attributable to service and was not manifest within one year of his separation from service. As a result, the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss was denied.

The appellant currently has a bilateral hearing loss disability, but this condition was not present during active duty for training in 1966 or for many years afterwards. The Board finds that the preponderance of evidence is against the claim for service connection.

The Board of Veterans' Appeals has determined that the veteran does not have a current disability of bilateral hearing loss for VA purposes, and thus denied his claim for service connection.

The veteran does not have hearing loss attributable to his military service, nor was it manifest within one year of separation from service. Therefore, the claim for service connection is denied.

The Board has determined that the appellant's bilateral hearing loss disability does not warrant a compensable rating under VA's schedular criteria.

The Board has determined that the veteran's bilateral hearing loss does not meet the criteria for a compensable evaluation, and thus denied his claim.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities, particularly PTSD, make him unemployable and the Board finds in favor of his TDIU claim.

The Board has granted the veteran's claims for service connection for left ear hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that new evidence presented since the final denial supports these claims.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have current hearing loss or tinnitus, and there is no competent evidence linking these conditions to his military service. Therefore, both claims for service connection are denied.

The Board has determined that there is no competent medical evidence linking the veteran's current diagnoses of bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, a ruptured left eardrum, or jungle rot to his period of active service. As such, the claims for these conditions have been denied.

The Board finds that the evidence is in relative equipoise and grants service connection for bilateral hearing loss.

The Board has determined that the veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability meets the criteria for a 10 percent disability evaluation, which is granted.

The veteran's claim for increased ratings for bilateral hearing loss and low back disability has been denied. The RO reduced the rating for bilateral hearing loss to noncompensable effective January 1, 2002, based on sustained improvement in his hearing impairment. For the low back disability, there is insufficient evidence from recent VA examinations to determine if a diagnosis of degenerative disc disease was made or if neurological examination results were provided.