Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2011

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for additional development due to incomplete STRs and lack of a supplemental opinion from an ENT specialist.

The Board finds that the evidence is in equipoise as to whether the Veteran has recurrent tinnitus due to his military service and grants service connection for tinnitus.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss, finding that the Veteran's symptoms are related to his military service. The issue of entitlement to service connection for residuals of anemia, toenail fungus, Achilles tendon injuries, and upper back injury is dismissed without prejudice as the Veteran withdrew these claims.

The Board found that the Veteran's eye disorder was not incurred in or aggravated by service and denied his claims for service connection.

The Board finds that the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether the Veteran's current tinnitus is causally related to in-service noise exposure, and grants service connection for tinnitus.

The Veteran is seeking service connection for chronic bilateral tinnitus, which he claims was caused by noise exposure during his military service. The Board has requested additional medical records to support the claim and remands the case for further development.

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

The Board has determined that the Veteran's tinnitus and hearing loss are related to his military service, granting service connection for these conditions.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's tinnitus is related to her military service, and she is granted service connection for this condition. The Board also found no evidence linking her myopia and cataracts to her military service.

The Veteran's appeal for hip pain and leg pain has been withdrawn.,The Board finds that the preponderance of evidence does not support service connection for sciatic neuropathy or tinnitus.

The Veteran's appeal for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for bilateral tinnitus is denied as the schedular criteria are adequate to rate his level of impairment. The Veteran's appeal for an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for bilateral hearing loss is remanded due to a lack of complete audiometric testing results.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to new and material evidence having been submitted, but further review is needed before a decision can be made.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to properly adjudicate the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus. The case will be remanded for further action.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the schedular requirements for a TDIU, but his unemployability is due to his service-connected conditions. The case is REMANDED for further consideration on an extraschedular basis.

The Veteran's initial claim for a compensable evaluation for hearing loss in the right ear was denied, and his claims for service connection for tinnitus, an acquired psychiatric disability (to include depression, anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, conversion disorder, somatization disorder, and personality disorder), and PTSD were also denied. The Board found that new and material evidence had not been submitted to reopen the claim of entitlement to service connection for PTSD.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's combat service and his consistent reports of ringing in his ears since active duty support a grant of service connection.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus. The evidence does not support a finding that these conditions are related to service.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim of service connection for tinnitus, as new and material evidence has been received. However, the claim remains denied as there is no causal relationship between the current tinnitus and active duty service.,The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was not incurred in or aggravated by active duty service. The Board found that sensorineural hearing loss may not be presumed to have resulted from such service.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and awarded an effective date of July 31, 2011, for the grant of service connection for tinnitus.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to missing service records and the need for VA examinations to assess his hearing loss, tinnitus, and skin conditions.