Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2017

The Veteran's claim of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus was denied in March 1955. The effective date for the grant of service connection is set at January 25, 2010.

The Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus have been granted. The status of the left toe disability and low back disability is unknown, as they are not addressed in the decision.

The Board has ordered a remand due to the need for additional development, including obtaining service treatment records from the Veteran's reserve service and scheduling another VA audiological examination.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to noise exposure during his military service, and thus grants service connection for these conditions.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus and a low back disability, both of which are considered direct service connection. The Veteran's benign positional vertigo is currently rated at 10%.

The Board found that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to his service, as there is no evidence of in-service noise exposure or chronic symptoms within one year postservice. The VA examinations did not find a link between the disabilities and service.

The Veteran's tinnitus is found to have started during his active service and the Board grants service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities, hypertension, and erectile dysfunction have been granted.

The Board finds that the evidence is in equipoise on whether the Veteran's tinnitus is related to in-service noise exposure, and therefore grants service connection for tinnitus.

The Board found that the appellant's hearing loss and tinnitus were not incurred or aggravated by his service, including ACDUTRA. The balance disorder was determined to have pre-existed his service and was not aggravated during service.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude her from engaging in substantially gainful employment, and therefore the criteria for a TDIU have not been met.

The Veteran's application for nonservice-connected pension benefits was denied as he did not meet the basic eligibility requirements due to lack of evidence showing qualifying income and net worth, and medical evidence did not show his non-service connected conditions were severe enough to prevent him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation.

The Veteran's service-connected conditions do not preclude him from obtaining or maintaining substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran seeks service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, which he asserts is due to in-service noise exposure. The Board finds that a VA audiological examination should be scheduled to determine the nature and etiology of any diagnosed hearing loss and/or tinnitus.

The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were not incurred in or aggravated by service, as there was no evidence of such conditions during service or within one year after separation. The VA examiner concluded that the Veteran had bilateral sensorineural hearing loss but did not find any current diagnosis for his claimed right rib disorder or right foot disorder.,The decision denied all issues related to service connection due to lack of evidence linking the disabilities to service.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that there is no evidence to support a link between these conditions and his active military service.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for a TDIU due to their combined rating of 60 percent, which is less than the minimum schedular requirement of 70 percent.

The Veteran's claims for tinnitus and TDIU were remanded due to incomplete development. The appeal is considered 'mixed' as some issues may be granted while others are denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to his active duty service, and therefore denied both claims.

The Veteran's left eye disorder is service-connected as it was caused by the in-service PRK surgery.,There is no evidence of a right eye disorder being related to service. The current diagnosis of dry eyes with superficial corneal changes may be due to chronic lens wear, not in-service PRK.,The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are likely related to acoustic trauma during service.