Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2015

The Veteran's combined service-connected disability rating is 60 percent, which meets the minimum schedular criteria for TDIU. The Board finds that he is unable to obtain and maintain substantially gainful employment due to his service-connected bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus.

The Board found no evidence of a chronic cervical spine disability, bilateral hearing loss, or tinnitus in service. The Veteran's current conditions are not presumed to have been incurred during service due to exposure to burn pits, Agent Orange, Camp Lejeune, radiation, Gulf War Syndrome, or other presumptive conditions. Service connection was denied as the evidence does not support a link between these conditions and service.

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

The Veteran's claims for left ear hearing loss, right ear hearing loss, and tinnitus were denied in September 1986. The effective date of the grant of service connection was not earlier than January 3, 2001 for left ear hearing loss.,The Veteran's claim for right ear hearing loss was denied in September 1986. The effective date of the grant of service connection was not earlier than November 5, 2007.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are found to be related to service. The Board also finds that the Veteran's vertigo is at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected hearing loss.

The Veteran's appeals on the issues of left knee, left ear hearing loss, and left ear tinnitus have been dismissed as withdrawn. The claim to reopen a back disorder was denied due to lack of new and material evidence.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, has been denied. His claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are pending as the VA has not provided a medical opinion regarding their etiology. The Veteran's bladder cancer claim is also pending.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, but a new VA examination is needed to determine if these conditions are related to his military service.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions did not manifest within one year of separation from service or are otherwise unrelated to his military service.

The Veteran is found to be unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation due to his service-connected disabilities, including PTSD and medications prescribed for these conditions.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral hip replacements and irritable colon, have significantly impacted his ability to secure and maintain substantially gainful employment. The Board has determined that the evidence is in equipoise regarding whether he can perform sedentary or office work due to these conditions.

The Board has reopened the claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to new and material evidence. The Veteran's MOS as a sheet metal worker likely exposed him to acoustic trauma, supporting his assertions of in-service noise exposure. Service connection is granted for these conditions based on direct evidence.

The Board found there is no legal basis to assign a schedular rating in excess of 10 percent for tinnitus, and denied the Veteran's claim for an increased disability rating.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's left ear hearing loss and tinnitus existed prior to his active service, but were aggravated by his service. As a result, the Veteran is granted entitlement to service connection for these conditions.

The Veteran's tinnitus is found to have begun during his service as a helicopter pilot, and the Board grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has found that the Veteran's current tinnitus is caused by his service-connected left ear hearing loss, and thus grants service connection for tinnitus as secondary to service-connected left ear hearing loss. The right ear hearing loss claim remains pending.

The Board has determined that a new VA audiological examination is needed to properly assess the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, as the October 2012 VA examiner's opinion was based on inaccurate factual premises.

The Veteran's hearing loss, tinnitus, left shoulder osteoarthritis, and right shoulder osteoarthritis are all found to be related to his active military service.

The Board found that the Veteran's condition did not meet the criteria for reimbursement of unauthorized medical expenses as it was not an emergency and no VA facility was feasibly available, thus denying the claim.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for sickle cell anemia, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, a left knee disorder, and COPD. The evidence received since the April 1978 rating decision does not provide new and material evidence to reopen any of these claims.