Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2019

The Board has granted entitlement to TDIU from December 4, 2018 due to the appellant's service-connected disabilities preventing him from obtaining or maintaining substantially gainful employment. The claim for extraschedular TDIU prior to December 4, 2018 is being remanded.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss are related to service, but further development is needed for his bilateral hearing loss claim.

The appeals for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, right ankle disorder, right shoulder disorder, left shoulder disorder, chronic left sternoclavicular joint disorder, left foot disorder, and left lower extremity radiculopathy have been dismissed.,The appeal for PTSD has also been dismissed.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and sleep apnea as the evidence did not show a link to active duty service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for hypertension, tinnitus, and heart disease/disorder have all been denied.,Service connection has been granted for sleep apnea secondary to anxiety disorder and headaches secondary to anxiety disorder.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's tinnitus is causally or etiologically due to noise exposure during service and grants entitlement to service connection for tinnitus.

The Board has granted the Veteran's request to reopen his service connection claim for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that there is at least equipoise evidence as to whether these conditions began during active military service. The decision also grants service connection for both conditions.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for tinnitus was reopened and granted.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome is being remanded for further evaluation.

The Veteran's claims for hearing loss, right ear and left ear are denied as there is no evidence of a current disability.,The Veteran's claim for tinnitus is denied as the weight of the evidence does not support a finding that it was incurred in service.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran did not exhibit these conditions in service or within one year after discharge. The evidence showed no in-service noise exposure leading to current hearing loss.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current tinnitus disability is related to in-service noise exposure.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, but remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss and hepatitis C due to insufficient evidence.

The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for tinnitus was denied as the disability is already at its maximum schedular rating.,The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD, to include alcohol dependence and cognitive impairment, was denied due to lack of occupational and social impairment that would warrant such a high rating.,The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for TDIU was denied as service connection was not in effect prior to July 9, 2009.,The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for DEA benefits was denied as there is no legal basis for the assignment of such a rating prior to July 9, 2009.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's service connection claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, but has remanded them due to insufficient evidence regarding noise exposure during reserve service.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not make him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, and his TDIU claim is denied.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, hypertension, and peripheral neuropathy of the upper and lower extremities are all granted as service connected. The Board found that these conditions were related to his military service or due to his service-connected diabetes.

The Veteran's claim for tinnitus was denied as there is no current diagnosis of the condition.,A 30 percent initial rating, but no higher, was granted for PTSD. The appeal regarding bilateral hearing loss disability is still pending.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding the evidence in equipoise as to whether these conditions are related to service.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal for a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for tinnitus before the Board could make a decision.