Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2002

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that no new evidence had been submitted to establish a link between these conditions and his military service.

The Board found that the veteran's claim for an effective date prior to March 6, 2001 for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus was denied as his claim was received on March 6, 2001, which is considered the earliest date of entitlement.

The Board has granted service connection for hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that these conditions are related to the veteran's active service. Service connection for arthritis of the right hip was denied as there is no evidence linking it to service or a service-connected condition.

The Board found that the veteran's hearing loss and tinnitus were not incurred in or aggravated by active military service, and thus denied her claims for these conditions.

The Board found no evidence of current diagnosis of tinnitus and denied the claim for service connection.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claimed conditions, including hemorrhoids, tinnitus, left ear hearing loss, hypertension, and residuals of a left thumb fracture, were not incurred or aggravated by service. The evidence does not support a finding that any current disabilities are related to military service.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of April 27, 2000 for the grant of service connection for tinnitus. The veteran argued that his September 1984 application should be construed as a claim for tinnitus, but the Board found no mention of ringing or buzzing in the ears, noise in his head, an ear problem, or something that could reasonably include tinnitus.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claims for service connection for mastoiditis and tinnitus, finding new and material evidence. The VA examiner concluded that these conditions are related to service.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding new and material evidence. However, it was determined that his current hearing loss is not related to service and thus denied these claims. The claim for increased ratings for gunshot wound residuals of the left leg and right shoulder were also addressed.

The Board denied the veteran's request for an earlier effective date of May 22, 2000 for service connection granted for tinnitus.

The Board found that the veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were caused by acoustic trauma in service, resulting in a grant of service connection for both conditions.

The veteran's claims for effective dates prior to September 13, 2000, for hearing loss and November 21, 2000, for tinnitus have been denied as the earliest possible effective dates are based on when the claims were filed in 2000.

The Board granted service connection for tinnitus effective February 26, 1992 and assigned a 10 percent rating. The earlier effective date claim was also granted.

The Board has determined that the perforation of the right eardrum during service did not result in any residuals and is not related to current tinnitus. The veteran's hearing loss and tinnitus are also not linked to service.

The Board has determined that no new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine and bilateral knees (claimed as back and bilateral knee disability), and psoriasis. The RO previously denied these claims in January 1998 without a timely appeal.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for eustachian tube dysfunction, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus. The evidence did not show that these conditions were incurred or aggravated by active military service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection of hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that there was no evidence to support an earlier date than March 27, 1998 for hearing loss or March 27, 1997 for tinnitus.,The decision also noted that the veteran's claims were denied in a February 1981 rating decision and did not reopen until March 1998.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded to the RO for further development and consideration of his claims, including review of revised rating criteria.

The Board has found that the veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his active duty service. However, the Board has determined that there is no evidence linking current back, neck, or shoulder disabilities to his military service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current bilateral defective hearing and tinnitus are not related to service, but have been caused by noise exposure after service. As a result, the veteran is granted service connection for tinnitus, but denied for bilateral defective hearing.