Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2008

The Board has determined that the veteran's current diagnoses of bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were not incurred in or aggravated by his military service. The evidence does not support a finding that these conditions are related to his time in active duty.

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

The Board has determined that the veteran's current tinnitus is related to service, and thus service connection for tinnitus is granted.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claimed bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to service, as there is no evidence of a current disability within one year after service or any chronicity of symptoms since service. The VA audiological examinations could not obtain reliable testing results from the veteran.

The Board has determined that a VA examination and medical opinion are necessary to determine the nature and etiology of the veteran's hearing loss, tinnitus, and bilateral knee disorder. The case is therefore being remanded for these purposes.

The Board has determined that additional development of the evidence is required before a decision can be made on the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and bilateral tinnitus.

The Board finds that the veteran's tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss are at least as likely as not caused by his military service, including noise exposure. The claim for service connection is granted.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral tinnitus, finding that it was not incurred or aggravated by service and did not manifest to a compensable degree within one year following separation from service.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the evidence did not establish a nexus between current hearing loss and tinnitus and in-service noise exposure.

The Board has denied service connection for chronic headaches, gastritis, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus as the veteran's conditions existed prior to service or were not aggravated by service.

The Board has remanded the case for further development and readjudication due to an inaccurate factual predicate in a previous opinion.

The Board found that the veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were not related to his military service, specifically noting that there was no evidence of noise exposure or other incidents in service. The Board also noted that the medical opinions provided by VA examiners did not support a finding of service connection.

The Board denied service connection for right ear hearing loss, tinnitus, and left ear hearing loss. The veteran's current hearing loss in the right ear was not incurred or aggravated by noise exposure during service. Tinnitus was also not linked to service. Service-connected left ear hearing loss has been assigned a non-compensable rating.

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

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

The Board has determined that the veteran's claimed conditions, including bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, right hand arthritis, and a right hand disorder (including Raynaud's disease), are not related to his military service. As such, service connection for these conditions is denied.

The Board has determined that the veteran's tinnitus did not develop during service and is not related to his military service. As a result, the claim for service connection for tinnitus was denied.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for postoperative residuals of a right knee osteochondroma, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus. The claim for an effective date prior to July 17, 2003, for the grant of service connection for a postoperative scar was also denied.

The Board has decided to remand the case for further examination and opinion regarding the veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus and found that the veteran's bilateral hearing loss is a direct result of his active duty service. The issue of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss remains pending.