Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2014

The Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are being remanded due to incomplete medical opinions. The VA examiner will be asked to provide a more detailed explanation regarding the significance of the normal audiometric results in December 1969 and the absence of tinnitus symptoms during service.

The Veteran's TDIU claim is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical records and a vocational examination to evaluate the impact of his service-connected disabilities on his employability.

The Veteran's service connection claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were denied as there was no evidence to support the presence of these conditions during or within one year after his military service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral tinnitus had its onset in service and granted service connection for this condition.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current right ear hearing loss is reasonably shown to have begun during service and granted service connection for this condition.

The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of recent VA outpatient records, specifically from October 2010 through January 2013. The appellant's claims file should be forwarded to an audiologist for an addendum opinion regarding whether hearing loss and/or tinnitus are related to service.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for tinnitus, finding that his current tinnitus did not begin during or as a result of active service.

The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were not incurred or aggravated in service, as there was no evidence of a current disability related to service. The VA examinations did not support a link between the conditions and service.

Your appeal is being remanded due to the need for a videoconference hearing before a Veterans Law Judge.

The Board found that the Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of tinnitus was not warranted, as his initial claim for hearing loss did not include tinnitus. The effective date remains July 22, 2008.

The Board found no evidence of tinnitus during service or for many years after service, and concluded that the Veteran's current tinnitus is not related to his military noise exposure. As a result, the claim for service connection was denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have current hearing loss or tinnitus disabilities, and thus cannot establish service connection for these conditions. The claim for a bilateral foot disorder is remanded as there are insufficient medical records to determine if it is related to service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's tinnitus began in service and has persisted. Service connection for tinnitus is granted.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's tinnitus was not incurred in or aggravated by his military service. The claims for right elbow disorder and bilateral hearing loss are remanded for further development.

The Veteran's tinnitus and left ear hearing loss have been rated at the maximum allowed under VA regulations, so no higher rating can be granted.

The Veteran's tinnitus and hearing loss in the left ear are found to be related to his service, with reasonable doubt resolved in his favor. The right knee disability is not currently shown as a separate condition from the left knee disability or back disability.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for a VA examination to determine his employability due to service-connected disabilities, and the case will be returned to the Board after review.

The Veteran's claims for bilateral defective hearing and tinnitus were denied because there is no evidence of current disabilities or a nexus between the claimed conditions and service. The claim for a low back disability was not adjudicated as it pertains to a different issue than the ones addressed in this decision.

The Board found that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were not incurred in service, as there was no evidence of hearing loss or tinnitus during his military service. The VA examiner concluded that it is most likely that the Veteran's current hearing loss and tinnitus resulted from post-military aging and/or post-military noise exposure.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for tinnitus and finds that new evidence received since the final denial in March 2008 raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating his claim. The Board also finds that the Veteran experienced tinnitus coincident with his combat service, which he is competent to state began during service and has continued to the present.