Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2006

The Board has determined that the veteran's current diagnoses of bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his military service, specifically noise exposure during his time as a small arms technician in the Marine Corps. As such, the claims for service connection have been granted.

The veteran's claims for higher initial evaluations for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were denied as there is no legal basis to award the requested ratings.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his military service, with reasonable doubt resolved in favor of the claimant. The decision grants service connection for these conditions.

The Board has remanded the case due to a need for additional VCAA notice.

The VA denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding no evidence of a nexus between his current conditions and his military service.

The VA determined that the veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were not incurred or aggravated by his active military service, including from in-service noise exposure.

The Board found no evidence of a nexus between the veteran's current hearing loss, tinnitus, colon disability (gastrointestinal reflux disease), and back disability and his military service. The preponderance of the evidence is against all claims for service connection.

The veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions have been denied as there is no current evidence of the claimed disabilities.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral defective hearing and tinnitus, have not been found to prevent him from obtaining employment in his chosen field of operations management.

The Board has determined that the appellant's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his military service, warranting service connection for these conditions.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the evidence supports these claims.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his active service, including exposure to acoustic trauma during his military duties. Service connection is granted for both conditions.

The veteran's claim for a higher rating and earlier effective date for service connection were denied. The veteran is currently rated at 20% for his right shoulder muscle disability, but the Board found that this was the maximum rating allowed under VA regulations. For the earlier effective date claims, the Board determined that the earliest possible effective date was October 28, 2002.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for effective dates prior to September 1, 2000 for left knee disability; January 16, 2002 for tinnitus; and August 1, 2002 for PTSD. The claim for a 100 percent rating for PTSD was also denied.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete information and need for additional medical opinions regarding the relationship between service-connected malaria treatment and current hearing loss and tinnitus.

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

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence and a need for further examination.

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

The veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection for tinnitus and PTSD have been denied as the decisions are final.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and effective date determinations in various issues related to his service-connected conditions.