Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2001

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus and remanded the claims of service connection for a right knee disorder, compensable evaluation for right ear hearing loss, and pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 3.324.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for headaches, bilateral chondromalacia patella, residuals of a fracture of the right middle finger, left ear hearing loss, and tinnitus.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus. The veteran is now entitled to a full merits review on these issues.,Service connection for bilateral hearing loss is granted as it is more likely than not related to noise exposure during military service.

The veteran's appeal is denied for the issues related to PTSD, tinnitus aurium (right ear), residuals of fracture (left mandible), burn scar (left thigh), laceration scar (right thigh), postoperative residuals (left ulna fracture with ulnar nerve transposition), and burn scars (tender, right and left forearm/hand).

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an effective date prior to January 5, 1998 for a TDIU as it was factually ascertainable that he was entitled to such on that date but not within the one-year period prior to his October 22, 1997 claim.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and left knee disability, but denied the other issues. The veteran's claim of entitlement to a compensable rating for a scalp scar is pending.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for special monthly compensation based on need for regular aid and attendance.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of March 23, 2000 for service connection due to head injury residuals, tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss. The decision stated that the reopened claim was filed after separation from active service, making the effective date the date of receipt of the claim.

The veteran's claims for service connection for the residuals of a jaw injury and tinnitus were reopened, but denied. The claim for carpal tunnel syndrome was also reopened, but denied due to lack of current evidence.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for tinnitus, finding that the earliest date for the award should be September 11, 1991.

The Board denied the veteran's attempts to reopen his claims for service connection for bilateral defective hearing and tinnitus, finding that no new and material evidence had been submitted.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that new and material evidence had not been submitted to reopen his claim of tinnitus. The decision also noted that he was previously found medically disqualified from flying due to hearing issues.

The veteran's tinnitus is currently rated at the maximum schedular evaluation (10%) and no greater benefit can be granted. The claim for a higher rating is denied.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including a respiratory disorder, hearing loss, tinnitus, vision loss, and a right knee disability. The appeals were decided on their merits without any presumption or reopening of records.

The veteran's claims for increased ratings for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were denied. The Board found that the current medical evidence did not show an increase in disability in his hearing loss and tinnitus, thus denying the claims.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that there is no reasonable possibility of additional evidence being helpful in substantiating these claims.

The veteran's claim for service connection for hearing loss and tinnitus was denied due to lack of well-groundedness. The Board has decided that additional development is needed, including obtaining all service medical records from the veteran's reserve service.

The veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection of tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss, and right knee sprain have been denied as the evidence does not show that entitlement to these benefits arose prior to the dates assigned in the decision.

The Board has determined that the effective dates for service connection of tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss should be February 27, 1998, and September 23, 1997 respectively. The veteran's claims were not granted earlier due to lack of prior informal or formal claims.

The veteran's PTSD was granted with a 70 percent evaluation, and other service-connected conditions were also granted. The veteran's TDIU claim was also granted.