Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2009

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not service-connected.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral tinnitus is related to acoustic trauma during military service, and therefore grants the claim of entitlement to service connection for bilateral tinnitus.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to determine the Veteran's service connection claims for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an eye disorder. The case will be remanded for further action.

The Board finds that the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether or not the Veteran's claimed tinnitus had its onset while on active duty, and grants service connection for tinnitus.

The Veteran has been granted service connection for tinnitus, but denied service connection for a hearing loss disability. The Board found that the Veteran's tinnitus is related to his military service and less likely due to noise exposure, while his hearing loss does not meet VA criteria.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development to determine the etiology of his claimed disabilities, including bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and pseudo malaria.

The Veteran's current tinnitus is related to noise exposure during service and the Board finds that it was incurred in active military service.

The Board has decided to remand the case for additional development, including obtaining service treatment records and medical opinions regarding the Veteran's claimed anxiety disorder.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to incomplete development of his claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus. The issues have not been fully addressed, particularly regarding the etiology of his hearing loss.

The VA denied the appellant's claims for increased evaluations and service connection for various conditions, including bilateral tinnitus, hearing loss, right ankle disorder, arthritis of the right ankle, lump masses throughout the body, residuals of a bilateral eye injury, multiple joint arthritis, right elbow condition, right knee disability, facial paralysis, and injuries to the tailbone and hips.

The Veteran's initial disability rating for diabetes mellitus is denied as it does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are being remanded due to inadequate examination reports. Additional VA treatment records, including recent ones, need to be obtained.

The Veteran's claims for an initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss and service connection for tinnitus were denied. The Board found no evidence of a nexus between the claimed conditions and active service.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current hearing loss and tinnitus are likely due to his active military service. The effective date of this decision is not specified as it was received after April 10, 2003.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are being remanded due to the inadequacy of the March 2006 VA examination, which relied on inaccurate facts regarding noise exposure.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are service-connected due to exposure to combat noise during service. Service connection for diabetes mellitus is granted as well, though it was not incurred in service.

The Veteran's claims for increased evaluations and service connection have been denied. The appeal is remanded to the RO.

The Board found that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to his military service, including any claimed acoustic trauma. The evidence does not support a finding of chronic hearing loss during service or post-service noise exposure resulting in these conditions.

The Board denied the appellant's claims for service connection for lumbago, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and residuals of a right knee injury. The claim for diabetes mellitus, type II, was granted with an effective date of May 31, 2006.

The Board has determined that the Veteran did not suffer from tinnitus during service and it is not related to his active duty. The issue of entitlement to service connection for an ocular cicatricial pemphigoid will be remanded for a new medical examination.