Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2010

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining VA medical records and providing a new VA examination to address the etiology of the Veteran's hearing loss, tinnitus, heart disability, sleep apnea, prostate cancer, and skin cancer.

The Board has granted service connection for diabetes mellitus, peripheral neuropathy of the upper and lower extremities, hypertension, and kidney failure as secondary to service-connected diabetes mellitus.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining records from U.S. Naval Hospital at Balboa and scheduling a VA examination to determine if the Veteran's current hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his in-service noise exposure.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including an opinion from a VA examiner regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected conditions contributed to his death.

The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss was remanded and is pending. The effective date of service connection for tinnitus has been denied as the earliest date of receipt of an informal claim for this condition.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current hearing loss disability in either ear to an extent recognized as a disability for VA purposes, and there is no credible evidence of a tinnitus disability. Therefore, service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus cannot be established.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus but is remanding the claim for hearing loss due to potential changes in the Veteran's condition.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, and his combined rating is 70 percent.

The Board found that the Veteran's current hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to his military service, thus denying his claims for service connection.

The Veteran's appeal for a disability rating in excess of 20 percent for diabetes mellitus type II was dismissed due to the Veteran's withdrawal. The claim for TDIU remains pending.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for a new VA examination to determine the etiology of his bilateral tinnitus, including whether it is related to service-connected hearing loss or in-service noise exposure.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not currently suffer from tinnitus and therefore, service connection for this condition is denied.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for COPD, tinnitus, and bilateral hearing loss has been denied as there is no evidence of a current disability or in-service event that is related to the conditions.

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

The Board has remanded the case for a Travel Board hearing at the RO in St. Petersburg, Florida to address all three claims: tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss (with reopening of claim), and anxiety disorder.

The Board has determined that the appellant's service-connected disabilities render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, and thus grants his claim for a total disability evaluation based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.

The Board finds that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his military service, with competent medical evidence supporting this conclusion.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that there was no evidence of a current disability meeting VA criteria or a nexus between any such disabilities and military service.

The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed due to his death. His claims for service connection for tinnitus, and applications to reopen claims for service connection for hearing loss and COPD are now moot.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and a new examination to assess his employability given his service-connected disabilities.