Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2015

The Board found that there is no evidence linking the Veteran's current tinnitus disability to her military service, and thus denied service connection for tinnitus. For bilateral hearing loss, the claim was not substantiated by new and material evidence.

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

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for his right knee disability, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on limitation of motion or instability. The preponderance of the evidence was against granting any higher rating.

The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to obtain additional medical opinions regarding the Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, as well as to clarify whether the Veteran currently experiences symptoms of tinnitus.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have PTSD and his psychiatric disorder is unrelated to service. His hearing loss disability was not shown during service or at present, meeting VA criteria for a disability. The Veteran's tinnitus is presumed to be related to military noise exposure.,Service connection for a psychiatric disorder (to include PTSD), hearing loss, and tinnitus has been denied.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including a VA examination to assess the Veteran's hearing loss and tinnitus, as well as a Statement of the Case regarding the tinnitus claim.

The appeal is being remanded for scheduling a hearing before a Veterans Law Judge at the RO. The Veteran's claims will be returned to the Board after this additional development.

The Veteran's tinnitus is not considered to be related to service, as the VA examiner determined that the humming and buzzing he experienced were a common auditory phenomenon rather than tinnitus.

The Veteran meets the schedular criteria for TDIU due to his service-connected disabilities, which have rendered him unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran does not have a current hearing loss disability for VA compensation purposes and his tinnitus is not service-connected.

The Veteran's tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss have been granted service connection effective July 18, 2012. The Board found no legal basis for an earlier effective date or a higher initial rating.

The Board found no in-service acoustic trauma and concluded that the Veteran's current tinnitus is not related to her service, thus denying her claim for service connection.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's left elbow condition, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus are not service-connected as they were either pre-existing conditions or did not manifest during active duty.

The Veteran's service-connected PTSD and tinnitus have rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, leading to the grant of TDIU effective January 21, 2015.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his military service, including noise exposure during active duty.

The Board has remanded the claims due to the need to obtain additional VA treatment records and issue a supplemental statement of the case.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a left ear hearing loss disability for VA compensation purposes during his period of service. Right ear hearing loss and bilateral tinnitus were caused by acoustic trauma during active service.,Service connection is granted for right ear hearing loss and bilateral tinnitus, as these conditions are found to be related to noise exposure in service.

The Veteran's tinnitus is found to be incurred in service due to noise exposure during active duty.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus and asbestosis, finding that his current conditions are related to in-service noise exposure and asbestos exposure respectively. The claim for a left hand disability was denied.

The Veteran's tinnitus is granted service connection. The issues of stomach disability, depression, right ear hearing loss and left ear hearing loss are remanded for further development.