Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2002

The Board denied the veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for a skin disability of the feet and hands (claimed as jungle rot), bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and a compensable evaluation for malaria. The evidence did not support these claims.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus, attributing these conditions to the veteran's in-service exposure to acoustic trauma.

The veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. Tinnitus and the residuals of influenza are denied.

The Board denied the appellant's claims for service connection for PTSD, a low back condition, a right knee disability, and tinnitus as there was no competent medical evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Board found that the veteran's hearing loss and tinnitus were not related to service, and thus denied his claims for service connection.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus as there was no in-service event that could be linked to the current conditions.

The veteran withdrew his appeal before the Board could make a decision.

The Board denied the veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral tinnitus and PTSD, finding that there was no competent medical evidence linking current tinnitus to service or any disease/injury incurred during service.

The VA denied an increased rating for tinnitus, currently rated at 10 percent.

The veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and a back disorder were denied as the evidence did not show that these conditions were incurred or aggravated by service. The Board found no evidence of hearing loss or tinnitus during service, and concluded that any current hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to service. For the back disorder, the Board noted that arthritis was not present until many years after service and could not be presumed to have resulted from herbicide exposure.

The Board granted the veteran's claim for service connection for Meniere's syndrome and assigned a 50 percent disability rating, effective from June 10, 1999. The veteran's bilateral sensorineural hearing loss is rated at 30 percent.

The Board found that the veteran's hearing loss and tinnitus did not result from service, as there was no evidence of such conditions during or within one year after service. The VA examiner concluded that the current hearing loss developed several years after service and was not related to acoustic trauma.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for tinnitus is denied as the evidence does not meet the criteria for a schedular evaluation in excess of 10 percent.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are causally related to his active service, including exposure to loud artillery during his time in the field artillery unit. As such, the veteran is granted service connection for these conditions.

The veteran's nonservice-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for a permanent and total disability rating for pension purposes.

The Board denied increased evaluations for the veteran's right wrist disability, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that there is no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including cervical spine disorder, back disorder, bilateral shoulder disorder, tinnitus, rhinitis, otitis media, and residuals of tonsillectomy. The arthritis of the knees is separately rated at 10 percent.

The veteran's claims for evaluations of his service-connected fractured mandible, tinnitus, and bilateral hearing loss have been denied. The current evaluation for the fractured mandible is 10 percent from June 30, 1997, with no higher rating warranted. Tinnitus has a maximum 10 percent evaluation, as it does not meet criteria for an extraschedular evaluation.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, with a 10% evaluation effective December 30, 1993. The veteran's claims for increased evaluations are denied.