Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2017

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and a lumbar spine disorder are being remanded due to the need for additional development of his VA treatment records and medical opinions.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's tinnitus was not incurred or aggravated by active duty service and denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's service-connected tinnitus is currently rated at 10 percent, the maximum rating available under Diagnostic Code 6260. The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss has not been assigned a compensable disability rating.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to his period of active service, including a perforated right eardrum during basic training. The evidence does not support a finding that these conditions were incurred or aggravated by service.

The Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus disabilities are not related to his military service, as there is no evidence of such conditions during or within one year after service. The Board finds the contemporaneous statements from the September 1966 Report of Medical History at the time of service separation more probative than later statements made during the course of an appeal.

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

The Veteran's PTSD resulted in significant occupational and social impairment, warranting a 70% disability rating from January 28, 2010 to March 28, 2012. The Board also granted entitlement to TDIU due to the combined effect of multiple service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus do not prevent him from securing and following substantially gainful employment, even in a quiet environment with infrequent interpersonal interactions.

The Board has found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his active service, while hypertension is not due to or aggravated by his service-connected diabetes mellitus (DM), and ED was not caused or aggravated by DM.

The Veteran is found unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation due to his service-connected disabilities, including major depressive disorder and migraine headaches.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus but denied the Veteran's claim for an increased rating for his degenerative disc disease and degenerative joint disease of the thoracolumbar spine.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's tinnitus is related to his active military service due to noise exposure during service, and thus grants service connection for tinnitus.

The Veteran's appeal has been withdrawn prior to the Board making a decision.

The Veteran's bilateral tinnitus is related to service and the Board has granted his claim for service connection.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of bilateral hearing loss or tinnitus, and therefore cannot establish service connection for these conditions.,Regarding the lumbar spine disability, the Veteran's claim is denied as there is no evidence of a current disability related to active service.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that there is no competent medical evidence linking these conditions to his military service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, hearing loss, and a headache disorder have been granted. However, the claim for an acquired psychiatric condition has been denied due to lack of credible evidence linking the current disability to service.

The Board has determined that further development is necessary before the appeal can be decided, including obtaining verification of the Veteran's Reserve service and any period of ACDUTRA or INACDUTRA. Additionally, a VA audiology examination must be conducted to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.

The Board has determined that the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his service, including noise exposure during military service. As a result, these claims for service connection have been granted.

The Veteran's service-connected residuals of head injury, including headaches, tinnitus, brain and motor dysfunction, speech disorder, and movement disorder of the hands, did not result in occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks prior to October 23, 2008.