Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2008

The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding a medical nexus between the veteran's in-service acoustic trauma and his current symptoms.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, chronic tinnitus, and the residuals of a perforated eardrum as there is no evidence that these conditions were incurred in or aggravated by active military service.

The veteran's appeal for a higher rating for tinnitus was denied as the maximum schedular rating of 10 percent has already been assigned.

The veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, GERD, and hiatal hernia, and a rating in excess of 20 percent for residuals of prostate cancer are being remanded for further development.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him individually unemployable, and the claims for increased ratings and earlier effective dates were denied.

The veteran's claim for service connection for a low back disorder was reopened, but ultimately denied. The Board also remanded the issue of entitlement to service connection for tinnitus.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for tinnitus as there is no competent medical evidence linking it to his military service.

The veteran's claims for service connection for hearing loss and a stomach condition were denied, while his claim for tinnitus was granted. The decision did not assign a rating or effective date.

The Board found that the veteran's tinnitus was not causally related to his active duty for training.

The veteran was granted an effective date of March 16, 1999 for TDIU based on the fact that his service-connected PTSD symptoms were ratable as 70 percent disabling from that date.

The Board denied the veteran's appeal for a separate 10 percent evaluation for each ear for his tinnitus, as it is considered a single disability entity.

The veteran's tinnitus was not persistent enough to warrant a compensable evaluation prior to June 10, 1999.

The Board granted service connection for tinnitus and remanded the issues of an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent disabling for left knee bursitis, and whether new and material evidence has been presented to reopen a claim of entitlement to service connection for a left shoulder condition.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for back pain, depression, hearing loss, tinnitus, joint aches, headaches, fatigue, and sleep problems.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim for service connection for tinnitus, but denied service connection. The claims for hypertension, heart condition, diabetes mellitus, and emphysema were not reopened.

The veteran's bilateral hearing loss is service-connected due to in-service noise exposure.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, loss of sense of smell, and a respiratory disability due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Board finds that it is at least as likely as not that the veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus began during active service as a result of in-service acoustic trauma.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus as there was no evidence of a disability during service or within one year thereafter, and no evidence linking the current disabilities to his military service.

The evidence submitted since the previous denial does not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.