Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2018

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current condition began during his active duty.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, but denied service connection for residuals of right inguinal hernia. The appeal is remanded for further development regarding sleep apnea, sinusitis, and tonsillectomy.

The Veteran's left ear hearing loss disability is granted as it resulted from in-service noise exposure.,The Veteran's bilateral tinnitus is granted as it began during service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, sleep apnea, hypertension and kidney disease secondary to service-connected lumbar strain, tinnitus, left lower extremity radiculopathy (sciatic nerve), and right lower extremity radiculopathy. The decision also remanded his claim for service connection for headaches.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral tinnitus but denied service connection for hearing loss. The Veteran's current hearing loss disability did not meet the threshold requirements for a VA disability rating at separation from service, and there is no evidence of in-service noise exposure causing his current hearing loss.

The Veteran's claims for higher ratings for tinnitus, hearing loss, and PTSD have been denied.,Service connection requests for loss of sense of smell, taste, sinus condition, and erectile dysfunction (ED) have also been denied.

The Board has decided to remand the claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to inadequate examination. The VA examiner failed to consider relevant evidence of record, including conversion of audiometric readings from ASA units to ISO/ANSI units.

The Board denied the claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, hypertension, and cataracts for accrued purposes due to lack of new and material evidence. The claim for service connection for tinnitus was not reopened as the submitted evidence did not relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim.

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

The Board has determined that the Veteran's tinnitus is related to his active military service and grants entitlement to service connection for this condition.

The Board has remanded the claims of bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, left ankle disability, and right ankle disability due to outstanding SSA records. The Veteran's service connection claims for these conditions are pending.

The Board has decided to remand the claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to potential outstanding VA treatment records that may be relevant to the case.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for PTSD and TDIU due to potential issues with verifying in-service stressors and a need for further examination regarding employment impact.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus have been denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating.,The Veteran's service connection claims for left arm condition, COPD, bilateral lung nodules, left thyroid mass, and carpal tunnel syndrome of the left hand are pending as they require verification of herbicide agent exposure during service.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's complete service treatment records need to be obtained and reviewed, as they have not been associated with his claims file. The issues of tinnitus, chronic headaches, and acquired psychiatric disorder (including depression, anxiety, and PTSD) are being remanded for further development.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation, thus TDIU benefits are denied.

The Board has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's claims for service connection due to the need for additional medical examinations and consideration of outstanding VA treatment records.

The Veteran is granted a TDIU rating from November 1, 2016 due to his service-connected disabilities. Prior to that date, the criteria for a TDIU were not met.

The Board has decided to remand the claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to inadequate VA audiological examinations. The Veteran's claims will be returned for further development.

The Veteran's appeal is partially remanded due to the need for additional development of records and examinations.