Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2009

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including his psychiatric disorder, rendered him unable to secure and maintain substantially gainful employment from September 21, 1999, until February 6, 2007.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including attempting to obtain service treatment records and considering whether VA's previous attempts to find these records were appropriate.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus is being remanded due to the unreliability of VA audiometric examination results. The Veteran will be provided another VA audiological examination.

The Veteran's PTSD warrants a 100 percent disability rating as of December 12, 2008. Bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not service-connected.

The Board found no evidence of a bilateral hearing loss disability, tinnitus, right ear disability, or right knee disability in service. The appellant's complaints were not supported by medical evidence and the VA examination did not find any current disabilities related to his service.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection due to the need for additional medical records and a new examination.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's currently shown bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to service, including in-service noise exposure. As a result, the claims for service connection have been granted.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus due to acoustic trauma in service. The initial compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss remains denied.

The Veteran's claims for PTSD and tinnitus have been reopened, but the Board has determined that there is no evidence to support a finding of service connection for either condition.

The Board has determined that there is no evidence to support a finding of service connection for bilateral hearing loss or tinnitus, and thus the Veteran's claims are denied.

The Veteran's tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss, and PTSD are all granted as service-connected. The Veteran was exposed to noise in Vietnam but no specific exposure basis is provided. No presumption of service connection due to the PACT Act or Agent Orange/Camp Lejeune is applicable. There is no rating assigned at this time.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's low back disability and tinnitus are not related to service, and thus denied both claims.

The Board found that the Veteran's kidney disability and tinnitus were not incurred in or aggravated by active service. The evidence did not support a finding of direct service connection.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected coronary artery disease and hypertension. The cases of right ankle arthritis and left ankle arthritis are being remanded due to new evidence.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude substantially gainful employment consistent with his education and occupational experience.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional medical examination and records review.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are related to his military service. Service connection was denied for nephritis and encephalitis.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for a VA examination to determine if his service-connected disabilities alone render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Veteran's tinnitus is already rated at the maximum schedular rating of 10 percent, and no higher rating can be assigned under VA's rating criteria.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to military noise exposure, and service connection is granted for both conditions.