Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2019

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been reopened, but the Board has determined that additional development is needed due to conflicting medical opinions and lack of a comprehensive VA examination.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development and opinion regarding service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder.

The petition to reopen the claim of entitlement to service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, Gulf War Syndrome (to include psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and unexplained aches and pains), PTSD, and an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD is denied.,The petition to reopen the claim of entitlement to service connection for PTSD and an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD is granted.

The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service-connected. The hearing loss and right elbow disability claims are remanded for further development.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's request for vocational rehabilitation and employment benefits, including pursuit of a Juris Doctor (J.D.), is not supported by evidence in his file. The AOJ must ensure all relevant documents are obtained and associated with the claims file, obtain any outstanding VA treatment records, and contact the Veteran to gather additional information regarding his attempts at employment. A vocational rehabilitation evaluation should then be conducted to determine if the Veteran's proposed change of goal is feasible.

The Veteran's tinnitus claim is granted, while his sleep apnea claim is denied. The right and left knee retropatellar pain syndrome claims are remanded for further development.

The Veteran's cause of death, pneumonia, is not related to his military service or any service-connected disability. The claim for DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 is denied as the Veteran was not rated totally disabled for at least ten years prior to his death and did not meet other eligibility criteria.

The Veteran's service-connected tinnitus is rated at the highest possible level (10%) and a higher rating is denied.

The Board dismissed the issue of whether a June 2012 rating decision assigning an effective date of October 31, 2011 for the grant of service connection for tinnitus constituted clear and unmistakable error (CUE). The claim for an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for tinnitus was also denied as there is no legal authority to assign such a date given the finality of previous rating decisions.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current diagnoses are related to his in-service noise exposure.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss, but has remanded both issues due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that there is no evidence of a nexus between these conditions and his active service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between current disabilities and active duty service.

The Veteran's hypertension, tinnitus, and right ear hearing loss have been granted service connection. The left knee disability appeal is dismissed due to lack of a timely notice of disagreement. Service connection for other conditions remains pending.

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

The Veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection for hearing loss and tinnitus, so the case is dismissed.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to December 1, 2015 for adding his spouse as a dependent due to insufficient information provided by the Veteran.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee and left ankle disorders, tinnitus, migraine headaches, and cervical spine disability have been granted.,New evidence has reopened the Veteran's previously denied claims of service connection for these conditions.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current condition is related to his in-service noise exposure and granting the benefit of the doubt.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus but has remanded the issue of service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability due to insufficient evidence.