Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2007

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include anxiety and depression, that is causally related to his period of active service. The record also contains no credible corroborating evidence that the veteran's claimed in-service stressors occurred. As a result, the claims for PTSD are denied.

The Board found that the veteran's current hearing loss and tinnitus were not incurred or aggravated by service, as there was no evidence of disease in service and no compensable hearing loss within one year post-service. The VA examiner concluded that there is no nexus between the veteran's exposure to noise during service and his current conditions.

The veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not service-connected.,Peripheral neuropathy is also not service-connected, as it did not manifest within the required timeframe after service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for residuals of a right elbow injury, left wrist fracture, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus due to lack of evidence showing these conditions were incurred in or aggravated by military service. The claim was also not granted based on presumed exposure to herbicide agents.

The VA denied the veteran's claim of service connection for tinnitus, finding no clinical evidence of tinnitus and noting that the appellant did not report having ringing in his ears during a VA examination.

The Board found that the veteran's fatal Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA) was not caused by or related to his service-connected disabilities, including defective hearing, otitis media, and tinnitus. The claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death is denied.

The Board has reopened the claim of service connection for tinnitus due to new and material evidence. However, it is denied as there is no competent medical evidence linking current tinnitus to service.

The veteran's claims for service connection for hearing loss and tinnitus are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and reconstructing lost service records.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that there was no evidence of in-service occurrence or a nexus to service. The veteran's current diagnoses were not related to his military service.

The veteran's claim for an effective date prior to October 31, 2002 for the grant of service connection for tinnitus was denied as there is no provision in the law for awarding an earlier effective date based on his contention that he had tinnitus prior to his October 31, 2002 claim.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, linking it to events during service. Bilateral hearing loss disability was not found to be related to service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability, tinnitus, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), hypertension, and degenerative joint disease of the right shoulder. The evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred in or aggravated by service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to service, including noise exposure during military service. The claims for service connection have been denied.

The veteran's request for separate schedular 10% disability ratings for bilateral tinnitus is denied as the condition is assigned a single 10% rating under applicable VA regulations.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and asbestosis. The evidence does not support a finding that these conditions are related to military service.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to a lack of evidence of current disabilities.

The veteran's claim for an increased evaluation for tinnitus and separate compensable evaluations for each ear was denied as the maximum schedular evaluation of 10 percent is already in effect.

The Board found that the evidence does not support a finding of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, as these conditions were not incurred or aggravated by active military service.

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

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining medical records and conducting examinations to determine if the veteran's hearing loss, tinnitus, and PTSD are related to his military service.