Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2020

The Board has remanded the case due to inconsistencies in addresses and living arrangements, as well as potential issues with service connection for various conditions. The appellant's status as a surviving spouse must be determined first before any other claims can proceed.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence on whether his psychiatric condition, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, hepatitis C, and chronic skin condition are related to his military service. The claims will be reviewed again with a focus on determining if these conditions preexisted service or were aggravated by it.

The Board denied service connection for degenerative joint disease of the right foot, left foot, and ulcerative colitis.,The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining records of the Veteran's mental health treatment and providing an opinion on whether his service-connected conditions contributed to his death. The issues of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, as well as for PTSD, are also pending.

The Board has determined that additional development is necessary to properly adjudicate the Veteran's claims for service connection, including due consideration of his exposure to environmental hazards in Southwest Asia.

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 Board has granted service connection for tinnitus but remanded the issue of service connection for bilateral hearing loss due to inconclusive VA and private audiology evaluations.

The application to reopen the claim for service connection for a lumbosacral strain with DDD was denied. The Veteran's new and material evidence did not relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate this claim.,The application to reopen the claim for service connection for tinnitus was granted. New evidence related to an unestablished fact (a nexus between the claimed disability and service) that supported reopening of the claim.

The Veteran's service connection for chronic prostatitis, anxiety disorder, right knee strain, left knee strain, allergic rhinitis, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus has been granted. The rating for anxiety disorder remains at 30 percent.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, but has remanded the issue of service connection for a respiratory disease.

The Veteran was granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) effective February 3, 2009. The appeal for higher ratings for bilateral hearing loss is denied.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to outstanding questions regarding medical nexus, including potential noise exposure from cement mixers and nail guns.

The Veteran's tinnitus is found to be related to his military service, and the Board granted service connection for this condition.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss are service connected. However, the lumbar spine disability is remanded for further development.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, hearing loss, skin cancer, and sleep apnea are being remanded due to the need for additional medical examination and development of records from his periods of active duty for training (ACDUTRA) and inactive duty for training (INACDUTRA).

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for tinnitus and an initial compensable rating for erectile dysfunction due to lack of sufficient information in the medical records.

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

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

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral tinnitus, finding that there is no evidence of in-service noise exposure and no chronicity of symptoms since service. The Veteran's assertions regarding in-service onset and continuing symptoms were not supported by the medical evidence.

The Veteran's death was not due to his own willful misconduct, but the criteria for DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 have not been met as he did not meet the total disability rating requirement.