Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2009

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to his military service, and therefore denied both claims for service connection.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are being remanded due to the unavailability of his service treatment records. The Board will arrange for a VA examination to determine if these conditions are related to his military service, particularly his reported noise exposure.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to determine if the appellant's hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his military service. The case is REMANDED for further action.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for a 10 percent disability rating for service-connected tinnitus is denied. The effective date is set at September 7, 2006.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not service-connected, as there is no competent evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Veteran likely has bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus that are attributable to his active military service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to in-service noise exposure, granting service connection for these conditions.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's tinnitus is not related to his service and denied his claim for service connection.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has not been submitted to reopen the claims for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1318.

The Board has determined that the evidence submitted by the Veteran does not meet the criteria for reopening his previously denied claim of service connection for tinnitus.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's hearing loss and tinnitus were not incurred or aggravated by service, as there is no competent medical evidence linking these conditions to his military service. The claim for PTSD was remanded due to insufficient information regarding a verified stressor.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's tinnitus is etiologically related to his military service, and thus grants service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including obtaining Social Security Administration records and conducting a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of his hearing loss and tinnitus.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the evidence did not support a link to service or any period of noise exposure.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's tinnitus is related to his noise exposure in service and grants the claim for service connection.

The Veteran's claim for a disability rating higher than 10 percent for service-connected tinnitus is denied as the maximum schedular rating of 10 percent has been assigned under Diagnostic Code 6260, which covers tinnitus.

The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was not incurred in or aggravated by active service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were denied as there is no competent objective medical evidence indicating current disabilities or a relationship to service. The claim for an initial higher rating for Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) L5-S1, postoperative disc arthroplasty was not addressed within the scope of this decision.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to his military service, and thus denied both claims.