Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2020

The Veteran's tinnitus was granted service connection. The right ankle, left knee, and back disabilities were remanded for further examination and opinion.

The Veteran's claims for PTSD, depression, a left foot condition to include the great toe, and tinnitus have been granted. The rating assigned is not specified.

The Veteran's back disorder, tinnitus, and bilateral hearing loss are all found to be related to his military service. Service connection is granted for these conditions.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for a left eye disability was dismissed as the claimant intended to appeal his right eye rating, not his left eye condition.,Service connection for low back disability and bilateral hearing loss were denied due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to service.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are related to his military service. The decision is based on credible testimony from the Veteran and medical evidence indicating noise exposure during active duty.

The Veteran's headaches are aggravated by his service-connected disabilities, and he is granted service connection for this condition.,There is no evidence of high blood pressure that had its onset during active service or is otherwise related to his active service.

The Veteran's TDIU claim was denied as his service-connected disabilities did not preclude him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the schedular requirements for a TDIU rating, as they are rated at 80 percent combined. The Board found that his service-connected conditions do not render him incapable of maintaining substantially gainful employment.

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

The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for service connection for right ear hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that new evidence supports a link between these conditions and his military service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for an effective date earlier than November 16, 2018 for the grant of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus. The decision found that no earlier claim was filed.

The Veteran's claim for bilateral hearing loss was denied due to lack of evidence meeting VA disability criteria. The new evidence does not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim.,The Veteran's claim for tinnitus was reopened as new and material evidence has been submitted, but service connection is still denied because there is no nexus between his period of service and his current condition.

The Veteran's appeal was dismissed without prejudice due to his death, as no proper substitution of the appellant has been filed.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus and COPD, finding that the evidence is at least evenly balanced as to whether these conditions are related to the Veteran's military service. Service connection was granted based on direct evidence of a relationship between the current disabilities and in-service exposure or injury.

The Board has determined that further development is needed for the Veteran's claims of service connection for various conditions, including bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, acne vulgaris, cervical spine disability, left ankle disability, low back disability, radiculopathy, and obstructive pulmonary disease or asthma. The claims are being remanded to obtain additional medical opinions and evidence.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's tinnitus is attributable to his in-service noise exposure and reports of symptomatology.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal for a higher rating for bilateral tinnitus, including on an extraschedular basis.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, but has remanded the issue of service connection for bilateral hearing loss due to inadequate rationale in the VA examination.

The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service connected. The remaining issues of entitlement to a compensable evaluation for residuals of fracture of the right fourth and fifth fingers, service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability (including PTSD and as secondary to TBI), and service connection for traumatic brain injury are remanded due to procedural reasons.

The Veteran's service-connected PTSD and tinnitus disabilities are rated at 50% and 10%, respectively, totaling a combined rating of 60%. The Board found that these conditions do not render the Veteran incapable of maintaining substantially gainful employment.