Hearing loss Board decisions

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including asthma, cervical spine degenerative joint disease, bilateral knee degenerative joint disease, left ear hearing loss, and lumbar spine degenerative arthritis, prevented him from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment consistent with his educational and vocational experience. The Board granted TDIU effective September 25, 2018.

The Veteran's tinnitus and ischemic heart disease have been granted service connection. The decision regarding bilateral hearing loss is pending as the case has been remanded.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is related to service and grants service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's TDIU was granted effective May 15, 2020 due to his service-connected disabilities. The effective date is tied to the date of his claim for service connection for hypothyroidism.

The Veteran's left wrist fracture residuals are related to his active service. The claims for right ear hearing loss and tinnitus are remanded.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the evidence is in equipoise as to whether these conditions are related to service due to noise exposure.

The Board denied the Veteran's appeal as his substantive appeal was untimely filed, and thus the RO could not accept it. The Veteran had until February 26, 2020 to file a formal appeal but did not do so within the time limit.

The Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss, back condition (claimed as tailbone injury), ear condition (claimed as eardrum injury/pain and severe ear infection right ear, otitis media), neck condition, back condition, left knee condition, and bilateral elbow injury are denied. The claim for bilateral foot fungus is granted.

The Board has remanded the claims of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to a duty to assist error in the January 2023 VA examination. The examiner's opinion was based on an inaccurate factual premise regarding the use of ASA or ISO/ANSI standards during in-service audiometric testing.

The appeal with respect to asbestosis is dismissed. Service connection for tinnitus is granted, and a compensable rating for bilateral eye disability is denied. The appeals regarding hearing loss, an acquired psychiatric disorder, left shoulder disability, and upper back/cervical spine disability are remanded.

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

The Board denied the Veteran's request for an earlier effective date of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that the date entitlement arose on October 22, 2020.

The Board has dismissed the appeals of the Veteran's claims for increased evaluations of bilateral hearing loss and posttraumatic stress disorder. The appeal regarding service connection for right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy (claimed as blockage) is remanded, and so is the one for left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy.

The Board has decided to remand the cases of bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to insufficient evidence in the January 2018 VA examination report.

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 nexus between these conditions and his military service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied, and the claims for OSA, low back disability, and left lower extremity radiculopathy are remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal, including the hearing request, before a decision was made. As a result, the appeal is dismissed.

The Board has granted service connection for right ear hearing loss, but denied left ear hearing loss. The decision finds that the Veteran's right ear hearing loss is at least as likely as not related to his noise exposure during service.

The Board has denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that the Veteran's current hearing loss disability was not incurred in or related to his military service.

The Board has granted service connection for right ear hearing loss, but denied service connection for left ear hearing loss due to lack of evidence meeting VA thresholds for a current disability.