Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2021

The Veteran's tinnitus is found to be etiologically related to military noise exposure during service, and the claim for service connection is granted.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from securing or following a substantially gainful employment for the rating period from February 14, 2014 through September 16, 2014. For the rating period from September 17, 2014 to July 17, 2017, there is no longer a case or controversy with respect to TDIU due to his receipt of a 100% combined schedular rating. For the rating period from July 18, 2017, the Veteran's PTSD does not meet the requisite rating alone to support a TDIU.

The Board denied service connection for various disabilities, including bilateral shoulder, ankle, elbow, wrist, cervical spine, and hip disabilities. The evidence did not establish a link between these conditions and the Veteran's active service.,Service connection was also denied for tinnitus.

The Veteran's right knee disability and tinnitus have been granted service connection. The left knee disability, claimed as secondary to the now-service-connected right knee disability, is remanded for further development.

The Board has determined that a medical opinion is needed to determine if the Veteran's service-connected disabilities contributed substantially or materially to his death. The claim will be remanded for this purpose.

The Board has determined that a medical opinion is needed to determine if the Veteran's service-connected disabilities contributed substantially or materially to his death. The claim will be remanded for this purpose.

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

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus. The cases of diabetes mellitus, left elbow disorder, and peripheral vascular disease are remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not prevent him from securing or following substantially gainful employment, thus his TDIU claim is denied.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and earlier effective dates for PTSD, tinnitus, sinus disorder, and deviated septum have been denied. The Board found that the correct date for the entitlement to service connection was June 13, 2017.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation as of March 3, 2015.

The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, finding that the Veteran's current hearing impairment was etiologically related to his active duty service. Service connection for bilateral tinnitus was denied as there is no evidence of its onset during or immediately after service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for hypertension, bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to insufficient examination reports.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and right ear tinnitus, finding that the evidence did not support a link between these conditions and military noise exposure.

The Board denied service connection for tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his in-service noise exposure. The appeals were decided on the merits.

The Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) and special monthly compensation (SMC) is denied. The Board found that the Veteran did not meet the criteria for TDIU due to his service-connected disabilities, as they did not render him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment.

The Board has found that new VA examinations are needed to assess the current severity of the Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, as well as to determine if he is unemployable due to his disabilities. The issues have been remanded for these purposes.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus. Service connection is remanded for the Veteran's claims of bilateral lungs disorder and a psychiatric disorder (anxiety).

The Veteran's TDIU claim is granted as of September 12, 2018 due to his service-connected disabilities meeting the schedular criteria for a TDIU.

The Veteran's claims for an earlier effective date for tinnitus and PTSD are remanded due to the need for additional VA treatment records.