Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2018

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus. The claim for asbestosis is remanded due to insufficient evidence.

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

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from securing and following substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's tinnitus claim is granted, and his bilateral hearing loss claim remains denied. The low back disability issue has been remanded for further examination. Service connection is established for tinnitus due to in-service noise exposure. Other claims remain pending.

The Veteran's claims for asthma, a heart disability, peripheral neuropathy of the upper and lower extremities, and tinnitus have been denied as there is no current evidence of these conditions.

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

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is currently rated at 100 percent effective May 18, 2017.,Service connection for tinnitus has been reopened and granted based on evidence showing the onset of symptoms during service and a link to noise exposure.,A 100% rating for bilateral hearing loss is granted as of May 18, 2017.

The Veteran is entitled to a permanent and total service-connected disability rating based on individual unemployability since August 26, 2008. Effective January 13, 2011, the Veteran's TDIU claim was granted.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's tinnitus, recurrent urinary tract infections (UTI), pyelonephritis, and medullary sponge kidney are service-connected. The conditions were found to be related to her active duty service.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus did not prevent him from securing and maintaining substantially gainful employment during the period on appeal, so he is not entitled to an effective date earlier than May 11, 2015 for a total disability rating due to individual unemployability.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have resulted in a combined rating of 90 percent, which is sufficient to warrant a TDIU. The Veteran has been found unemployable due to his chronic migraine headaches and other service-connected conditions.,The Veteran was granted a TDIU based on the severity of his service-connected disabilities, including his migraines.

The Board found no evidence of a causal relationship between the Veteran's GERD and service, including exposure to environmental hazards. Service treatment records are silent for complaints or diagnoses related to GERD.,Service treatment records do not show asthma during service. The Veteran was diagnosed with mild asthma in November 1998 after separation from service. There is no evidence of a causal relationship between the Veteran's current asthma and service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to his active service, as there is no in-service occurrence or link between the conditions and service. The evidence does not establish a current disability within one year of separation from service.

The Board has found the evidence to be in equipoise, granting service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his active service, with reasonable doubt resolved in favor of the Veteran. Therefore, both conditions have been granted service connection.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus disabilities are related to his military service, specifically noise exposure. As a result, these conditions have been granted service connection.

The Veteran has been granted service connection for diabetes mellitus type II as a result of herbicide exposure, bilateral hearing loss due to in-service acoustic trauma, and tinnitus due to in-service acoustic trauma.,Service connection is established for these conditions based on the presumption that certain diseases are associated with herbicide exposure, chronic symptoms during service, or in-service acoustic trauma.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him unable to secure and maintain substantially gainful employment, and the Board has granted a TDIU effective April 29, 2013.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus based on continuity of symptoms since service separation.