Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2021

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, and the Board has granted a TDIU on an extraschedular basis.

The Board denied service connection for a gastrointestinal disorder, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and respiratory condition. Service connection was granted for obstructive sleep apnea.,Service connection was not established for the Veteran's claimed gastrointestinal disorder, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, or respiratory condition.

The Veteran's claim for increased ratings for bilateral hearing loss, PTSD, and tinnitus was denied. The Board found that the current ratings adequately reflect the severity of his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for effective dates prior to October 7, 2011 were denied as a matter of law due to the finality of the January 24, 2000 rating decision that initially denied service connection.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development and examination to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's tinnitus and left shoulder disability, as well as any aggravation by his service-connected right elbow disability.

The Veteran's tinnitus is rated at the maximum allowable, and service connection for CLL, residuals of myocardial infarction, bilateral hearing loss, OSA (now claimed as secondary to PTSD), and breathing problems (now claimed as COPD) are all denied.,A VA examination is needed to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's diagnosed conditions, including his COPD.

The Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities was denied as an effective date prior to May 8, 2013 is not possible because the service connection for the underlying disabilities occurred after that date.

The Veteran's appeal was dismissed because they passed away, and the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this appeal.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a TDIU on an extraschedular basis prior to October 26, 2016, as his service-connected disabilities did not prevent him from securing or maintaining substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service-connected.,Bilateral hearing loss does not meet the criteria for a disability rating.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for TDIU prior to October 24, 2018 and from October 24, 2018. The decision found that the Veteran was unemployable due to his service-connected disabilities but not during the period of a temporary total evaluation or since he received a combined schedular rating of 100%.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for tinnitus, finding that there is no evidence of a nexus between his current tinnitus and his military service.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the evidence is at least evenly balanced as to whether these conditions are related to in-service acoustic noise exposure.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including degenerative disc disease, left knee osteoarthritis, right knee osteoarthritis, tinnitus, radiculopathy of the left lower extremity, and radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, have rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment from March 7, 2016 to January 17, 2019.

The Veteran's TDIU claim from July 24, 2017 through September 11, 2017 was denied because he had been working to a level of substantially gainful employment during this period.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including coronary artery disease and bilateral hearing loss, prevented him from securing or following substantially gainful employment from September 19, 2005 to August 9, 2010. The Board granted TDIU on an extraschedular basis for this period.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied as he does not have a current diagnosis of bilateral hearing loss.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for tinnitus is denied as the evidence does not show that his tinnitus began in service or is due to service.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the right upper extremity and left upper extremity is remanded as further testing is needed to determine if it is related to diabetes mellitus.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability (including PTSD and mild cognitive impairment) is granted as new evidence has been added, but a VA addendum opinion is needed to determine if the condition is aggravated by diabetes mellitus.

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

The Board has dismissed the appeal as the Veteran died during the pendency of the appeal and thus, the Board does not have jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of the service connection claims.

The Veteran's service-connected conditions rendered him unable to secure or maintain any substantially gainful occupation beginning April 18, 2020.