Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2007

The Board has remanded the veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to inadequate VA medical examination report, and a need for further development.

The Board has determined that there is no evidence to support the veteran's claims of bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus being related to service. The veteran's current conditions are not considered to be due to his military service.

The veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection were denied. The Board found no legal basis to grant an increased rating for tinnitus, as it is already at the maximum schedular evaluation. For hypertension, the evidence did not establish that the condition was incurred in or aggravated by service, given the presumption of soundness upon entry into service.

The veteran's claims for increased ratings for a right ankle disability, service connection for bilateral hearing loss, and service connection for tinnitus were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for an increased rating or service connection.

The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to determine the nature and etiology of the veteran's claimed tinnitus due to in-service noise exposure.

The veteran's service-connected bilateral tinnitus is assigned a maximum schedular rating of 10 percent, and there is no legal basis for separate ratings for each ear.

The veteran's claim for separate compensable ratings for tinnitus in each ear is denied as there is no legal basis to award such ratings.

The veteran's claim for an increased disability rating for service-connected tinnitus is denied as the maximum schedular rating of 10% is already assigned.

The Board has granted the veteran's claim for service connection for tinnitus, finding that it is related to noise exposure during his active duty service.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, finding that the veteran's current tinnitus is reasonably due to service and clearly associable with the tinnitus diagnosed on VA examination soon after service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for right ear hearing loss and left ear hearing loss, finding no evidence of a current disability related to service. The left ear hearing loss is currently rated as noncompensable.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to determine if the veteran's current hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his military service.

The Board has remanded the case due to the submission of new evidence and the need for additional consideration regarding the rating and effective date of any award.

The Board has dismissed the appeal due to the death of the appellant.

The veteran's claim for service connection for tinnitus is denied as there is no current evidence of the condition.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for tinnitus due to new and material evidence. The medical opinions suggest that the veteran's current hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to his military service, as they occurred many years after his separation from service.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate examination and etiology opinion regarding the veteran's tinnitus disability, which is claimed to be related to a grenade fuse explosion during service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for higher initial evaluations for tinnitus and left ear hearing loss, as well as his request for an earlier effective date for service connection of tinnitus. The claim for a back disorder was reopened but not granted.

The veteran's appeal is remanded due to a claim of clear and unmistakable error in the December 1990 rating decision, which may impact the effective date for the award of a 10 percent evaluation for tinnitus.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA psychiatric examination.