Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2015

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were not incurred in or aggravated by service, and thus denied his claims for these conditions.

The Veteran's tinnitus is as likely as not related to his active military service, and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, left knee disability, right knee disability, and back disability. The evidence does not support a finding that these conditions are related to service.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, tricompartmental osteoarthritis of the left knee with a degenerative meniscal tear, and degenerative joint disease and degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine. The cervical spine disability claim is dismissed due to withdrawal by the Veteran. The right knee disorder claim is remanded for additional development.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus have been reopened. The VA examiner found that the current hearing loss was less likely than not related to military noise exposure, while a private audiologist opined it was at least as likely as not caused by noise exposure during his military service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran is not entitled to a higher initial disability rating for bilateral hearing loss and denied service connection for tinnitus. The appeal regarding service connection for a back disorder is addressed in the REMAND portion of this decision.

The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service-connected, and the TDIU claim remains pending.

The Veteran's tinnitus is related to in-service acoustic trauma and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.

The Veteran died of hanging, but his service-connected non-Hodgkin's lymphoma did not cause or contribute to his death. The Veteran was not rated at 100% for more than 10 years prior to his death and was not a prisoner of war.

The Veteran's Parkinson's disease was not granted service connection as it did not manifest until many years after service and there is no evidence of a relationship to Camp Lejeune service.,The Veteran's tinnitus has been rated at 10% under the schedular criteria. The Board found that an extra-schedular evaluation for his tinnitus was warranted due to its constant ringing nature and impact on daily life.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder (to include PTSD). The claim for a compensable initial rating for his service-connected right leg scar is also denied. The claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 for residuals of a lymph node simple biopsy remains pending.

The Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss, bilateral tinnitus, and PTSD have been granted. The initial evaluation for PTSD is set at 30 percent.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a bilateral ankle disability and tinnitus, finding no current disabilities and insufficient evidence to link these conditions to service.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims for service connection for hepatitis C, liver cancer, a lumbar spine disability, a cervical spine disability, a bladder disability, peripheral neuropathy of bilateral lower extremities, tinnitus, and bilateral hearing loss. The appeals are granted.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed for the Veteran's PTSD claim, including scheduling a VA psychiatric examination and obtaining updated medical records. The TDIU issue will also be addressed during this process.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation for the period from June 5, 2009, to April 25, 2013. The Board granted entitlement to Total Disability Rating due to Individual Unemployability (TDIU) during this timeframe.

The Veteran's DIC claim under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318 was denied because he did not meet the requirement of having a service-connected disability rated totally disabling for at least ten years immediately preceding his death. The non-service-connected death pension claim was also denied due to the appellant's income exceeding the maximum annual pension rate.

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

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are etiologically related to his military service, resolving all doubt in favor of the Veteran.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including scheduling a new VA examination and obtaining an addendum medical opinion regarding service connection for PTSD, hearing loss, and tinnitus.