Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2015

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have bilateral hearing loss for VA purposes and finds no evidence of tinnitus being incurred in service. Therefore, both claims are denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's neck disorder and tinnitus were not incurred or aggravated during service, and thus denied both claims.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for tinnitus and granted the claim on the merits, finding that the Veteran's tinnitus is as likely as not attributable to his active military service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining service records and scheduling a VA examination to determine the etiology of his hearing loss and tinnitus.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to incomplete development of records and an addendum opinion from the VA otolaryngologist and audiologist.

The Board has dismissed the appeal as the RO has already granted service connection for tinnitus and vertigo in a May 2013 rating decision.

The Board found that the Veteran's left ear hearing loss and bilateral tinnitus are not related to his military service, as there was no evidence of a nexus between his current conditions and his active duty. The VA audiologists' opinions were considered most persuasive in reaching this conclusion.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current hip, back, hearing loss, tinnitus, headache, right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, or left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy disability for which service connection can be granted. The claims are therefore denied.

The Board has decided to remand the case for additional development due to questions regarding the exact nature and etiology of the disabilities at issue, including private medical records that have been added to the record.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining VA and private treatment records, as well as a new VA examination. The Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are inextricably intertwined with the TDIU claim.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied, but his claim for tinnitus is granted.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for tinnitus has been denied as the evidence does not warrant an increase in his current 10% disability rating.

The Board found that the Veteran's tinnitus did not begin in service and is not related to his military noise exposure. The claim for service connection was denied.

The Board found that the Veteran does not have a current hearing loss disability or tinnitus that is related to his active service. The earliest clinical evidence of these conditions was more than 40 years after separation from service.

The Board has granted service connection for recurrent tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss, finding that the Veteran's symptoms are related to his military service.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, residuals of frostbite on hands and feet, and an anxiety disorder (claimed as depression) secondary to the service-connected back injury with degenerative arthritis. The claim for a higher initial rating in excess of 10 percent for the service-connected back injury was also denied.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current tinnitus is as likely as not a result of noise exposure during his military service.,Service connection was also granted for bilateral hearing loss based on in-service noise exposure.

The Veteran's tinnitus is found to be the result of injury in service and granted as a direct service connection.

The Veteran's claims for higher initial evaluations for various service-connected conditions, including diabetes mellitus and its associated peripheral neuropathy and erectile dysfunction, as well as tinnitus, were denied. The claim for a TDIU is also on appeal.