Hearing loss Board decisions

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for a personal hearing before the Board of Veterans' Appeals.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and left knee pain. The claim for an initial compensable evaluation for right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome is pending.

The Board denied an increased rating for the service-connected bilateral hearing loss and a compensable initial evaluation for the service-connected status post excision, basal cell carcinoma of the right cheek.

The veteran's tinnitus, headaches, bilateral hearing loss and perforated tympanic membrane have been granted a 10 percent evaluation each.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss and traumatic arthritis of the left knee, finding that new and material evidence was not submitted to reopen the previously denied claims.

The Board finds that the veteran's service connection claim for bilateral hearing loss is well grounded and grants the claim.

The Board found that the veteran's claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and vertigo are not well grounded. The evidence does not support a nexus between these conditions and his military service.

The Board has determined that the evidence submitted since the August 1974 final RO decision is not new and material, thus preventing the reopening of the claim for service connection for hearing loss.

The Board found that the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is not well-grounded. The claims for skin carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma of the skin based on mustard gas exposure are well-grounded.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for bilateral hearing loss was denied as the current disability level does not warrant a compensable evaluation.

The Board has determined that the veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his active duty service, while Meniere's disease is not shown to be service-connected. The veteran's current conditions have been granted as well.

The Board denied service connection for hearing loss (other than the loss at 8,000 kilohertz in the right ear) as there is no competent medical evidence associating the current hearing impairment to the veteran's military service.

The Board has granted service connection for the residuals of adhesive otitis media of the right ear and denied increased ratings for bilateral hearing loss and left ear otitis media.

The Board found that the veteran's current hearing loss is not causally related to his active military service and denied the claim for service connection.

The veteran's service-connected residuals of a head injury and hearing loss are both rated at their maximum disability levels, resulting in a combined rating of 40 percent. The appeal is mixed as some issues were granted while others were not.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the claim of service connection for right ear hearing loss. The issue of service connection for tinnitus is addressed in the Remand portion.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the claim of service connection for hearing loss, making it well-grounded. The veteran's testimony supports this conclusion.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is related to noise exposure in service, and thus grants service connection for this condition.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to his age and other non-service-connected conditions.

The Board has determined that the veteran's chronic right knee disability, bilateral hearing loss, and hypertension are likely to have had their onset during active service. As a result, these conditions are granted as being incurred in or aggravated by service.