Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2013

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his active duty service.

The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his military service, with no presumption or secondary connection involved.

The Board has determined that the preponderance of evidence is against a finding of tinnitus in service or during the appeal period, and thus denied the claim for service connection.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to obtain and retain substantially gainful employment, warranting a TDIU.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are likely due to noise exposure during his period of active service, granting service connection for these conditions.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, and the criteria for a TDIU have been met.

The Board has determined that further development is needed, including obtaining an examination and etiological opinions for the Veteran's claims of bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus. The appeal will be remanded to the RO via the Appeals Management Center (AMC).

The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to obtain an adequate VA examination and address the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus. The original June 2009 VA examination opinion was found to be inadequate due to inaccuracies in the facts considered, and the need to consider additional evidence.

The Board found that the Veteran did not file a timely Notice of Disagreement (NOD) to the December 2008 rating decision, which denied his claims for service connection for various conditions. As such, the appeal was denied.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral high frequency sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current disabilities are related to his military service.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinions and a need for further development of evidence. The Veteran's claim for service connection for tinnitus, including as secondary to his service-connected bilateral hearing loss, is now pending.

The Board found that the Veteran does not have current bilateral hearing loss or tinnitus disabilities for VA purposes and denied his claims for service connection. The right elbow disability claim was also denied.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the schedular criteria for a TDIU rating, as his combined disability rating is 40 percent and he can still engage in substantially gainful employment.

The Board found that the Veteran's headaches were not incurred in or aggravated by active military service, and they are not the result of or aggravated by a service-connected disability. The VA examiner concluded that the Veteran's headaches were not likely related to his service-connected bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.

The Board found that the Veteran's death was not caused by or a result of service-connected disabilities, including his left knee disability and Still's disease. The cause of death was determined to be an occipital-atlantal separation due to a motorcycle accident where the Veteran lost control of his vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.

The Veteran's tinnitus is likely related to his service, and the Board has granted service connection for this condition. The issue of entitlement to an initial compensable disability rating for right ear hearing loss was withdrawn by the Veteran prior to a decision being made.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for hearing loss and tinnitus have been reopened, but the Board is remanding these issues to obtain additional evidence. The claim for a higher evaluation for bronchitis remains on appeal, as does the waiver of overpayment issue.

The Board has granted service connection for PTSD based on MST, finding that the Veteran's symptoms are related to his reported military sexual trauma.,Service connection was also established for tinnitus, with the Board concluding that noise exposure during active duty is causally linked to the condition.

The Board has determined that a new VA examination is needed to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's hearing loss and tinnitus disabilities, as the original examiner did not discuss post-service noise exposure in detail.

The Board found no probative evidence that the Veteran's tinnitus is causally or etiologically related to service, and thus denied his claim for service connection.