Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2018

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current diagnosis is at least as likely as not related to his in-service noise exposure. Service connection was denied for bilateral hearing loss.

The Board has determined that the appellant's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not service-connected as they are not related to his military service, including noise exposure or acoustic trauma.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development and examination to determine if the Veteran's current vision problems, hearing loss, or tinnitus are related to his service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for joint pain, tinnitus, and sleep apnea. The Board found no evidence of a current disability or in-service incurrence or aggravation.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to new and material evidence having been received. The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were not shown to be related to service, and continuity of symptoms is not established.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for tinnitus is granted. The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability is remanded due to the need for a new medical opinion.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral tinnitus is etiologically related to his in-service noise exposure and granted service connection for this condition.

The petition to reopen the previously denied claim of entitlement to service connection for a right knee disability is denied. An initial rating in excess of 10 percent for tinnitus is denied. The Veteran's claim for an initial compensable evaluation for right ear hearing loss is remanded.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral tinnitus but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The Veteran's tinnitus is found to be at least as likely as not related to in-service acoustic trauma, while his hearing loss is less likely than not caused or aggravated by military service.

The Board denied service connection for cervical spine disability, lumbar spine disability, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions began during or were related to military service.,Specifically, there was no medical evidence showing an in-service onset of any of these conditions. The Veteran's STRs showed only one incident of low back pain treated with no further follow-up.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and dismissed the issue of peripheral neuropathy of the upper extremities.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for PTSD is denied, but his claim for a TDIU due to service-connected disabilities is granted.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for tinnitus was denied in 2010 due to failure to appear at a VA examination. The effective date cannot be earlier than October 28, 2015.

The Veteran's service connection claims for a right shoulder disorder, bilateral hearing loss, PTSD, and tinnitus have been granted. The rating for PTSD has been increased to 10 percent. A TDIU claim is also granted.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus as the evidence did not show an increase in disability during service or a link to active duty service.

The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were denied as they are not shown to be causally or etiologically related to an in-service event, injury or disease.,Service connection for bilateral cataracts was also denied because the condition did not have its onset during his active service, is not otherwise related to his active service, nor was it proximately due to, the result of, or aggravated by his service-connected diabetes mellitus.

The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as incurred in active service due to noise exposure.

The Board has decided to remand twelve service connection claims for additional development, including obtaining missing service treatment records and verifying the Veteran's exposure to herbicide agents. The remaining fourteen issues were previously denied in a November 2014 rating decision and require issuance of a statement of the case.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a low back condition, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and psychiatric disability has been reopened. The rating for left knee limitation of flexion is granted at 10 percent since August 11, 2016. A separate 10 percent rating is granted for right knee instability since the same date.

The Veteran's PTSD is rated at 50 percent, and the Board denied a higher rating. The Veteran was granted TDIU based on his service-connected disabilities.