Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2019

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus and remanded the issue of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD). The Veteran's assertions regarding the onset of his tinnitus and symptoms since service are credible, and he is entitled to a presumption of service connection due to in-service noise exposure. For the acquired psychiatric disorder, further examination and opinion are needed as the VA examiner did not discuss the Veteran’s diagnoses.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.

The Board has granted the Veteran's petitions to reopen his claims for service connection for left shoulder recurrent dislocation, major depressive disorder, and tinnitus. The claims are now considered on their merits.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and associated tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current disabilities are related to his military service due to exposure to loud noise.

The Veteran's service-connected PTSD and tinnitus prevent him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation, and the Board has granted a TDIU effective August 18, 2015.

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

The Veteran's PTSD, tinnitus, and hearing loss have been granted service connection. The rating for PTSD is set at 50 percent.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims of service connection for hearing loss and tinnitus, but has remanded both issues due to insufficient evidence.

The Veteran's tinnitus is service-connected as it began during active duty and has persisted since then.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities (bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and PTSD) do not prevent him from obtaining or retaining substantially gainful employment. The Board finds that the evidence does not show total occupational disability due to these conditions.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and recurrent tinnitus, finding that there was no evidence of a causal relationship between these conditions and his military service.

The Board has denied service connection for bilateral foot disability, right ankle disability, and left leg disability. The claims of service connection for tinnitus (secondary to hearing loss) and diabetes mellitus (secondary to herbicide agent exposure) are remanded due to the need for additional development.

The Board has denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the evidence does not support a link between these conditions and active military service.,For ischemic heart disease, the Veteran's claim is remanded as there are insufficient records to assess current severity.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected hearing loss aggravated his tinnitus.

The Veteran's appeal for a rating in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected stroke residuals and for TDIU was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support an increase in disability rating beyond 10 percent, as there were no ascertainable residuals to warrant such a rating. For TDIU, the Veteran's disabilities were rated at 80% combined, meeting the threshold requirements, but his service-connected disabilities did not render him unemployable.

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

The Board has decided to remand the cases of bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus for further development as there are insufficient opinions regarding their etiology.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for effective dates prior to November 12, 2014 are not warranted and has therefore remanded the cases for further development.

The Veteran's tinnitus is found to have begun during service and has persisted since, meeting the criteria for service connection.

The Veteran's tinnitus is found to have been incurred during service.,Service connection for residuals of left elbow fracture and C1 fracture are remanded due to insufficient nexus opinions.