Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2022

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's credible and competent lay evidence is sufficient to establish a nexus between his military service and the condition.

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

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, finding that the evidence is at least in equipoise and thus granting the claim.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from securing or maintaining substantially gainful employment, and a TDIU on an extraschedular basis is denied.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for tinnitus, finding that there was no in-service occurrence or injury related to his claimed condition and thus not meeting the second element of service connection.

The DIC benefits claim is denied as the Veteran did not meet the criteria for receiving such benefits. The cause of death claim is remanded due to insufficient evidence regarding the relationship between the Veteran's service-connected PTSD and his death.

The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to incomplete service records and a need for an addendum opinion considering all periods of active duty, including ACDUTRA with the Florida National Guard.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus but remanded the issue of service connection for hypertension due to incomplete records and need for a VA examination.

The Board has dismissed all appeals for service connection as the Veteran died before a decision could be made.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus and remanded the cases of lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) and bilateral hearing loss.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus. The cases of bilateral hearing loss, back disability, and an acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD) are remanded due to the need for additional examinations.

The Veteran's appeal was denied as his PTSD did not meet the criteria for a higher rating than 50 percent, and he is also denied TDIU based on his service-connected disabilities.

The Board dismissed the claims for tinnitus and malrotation, congenital, left kidney and residuals of renal trauma (claimed as stage 4 kidney failure) due to the appellant's death.

The Veteran does not have sleep apnea, but has insomnia which is a symptom of her already service-connected PTSD, thyroid condition, and tinnitus. Therefore, the claim for service connection for a sleep disorder is denied.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus were dismissed due to the death of the Veteran during the appeal process.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities prevented him from securing and following substantially gainful employment prior to January 1, 2020. From January 1, 2020 onwards, the evidence shows that his disabilities preclude him from securing and following substantially gainful employment.

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

The Veteran's claim for an effective date earlier than February 27, 2013 for tinnitus is denied as there was no communication prior to that date indicating intent to apply for service connection.,The Veteran's claim for an effective date earlier than June 27, 2006 for psychiatric disorder (post-traumatic stress disorder with major depressive disorder) is dismissed as a matter of law due to the finality of the April 2007 rating decision awarding service connection and assigning a noncompensable rating.,The Veteran's claim for an effective date earlier than February 21, 2014 for increased ratings for bilateral hearing loss is remanded as there was no evidence showing that any increase in disability or additional disability following the May 2011 left long finger trigger release was proximately due to VA's fault.,The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for multiple actinic keratoses and melanoma is remanded as there was no evidence showing that any increase in disability or additional disability following the May 2011 left long finger trigger release was proximately due to VA's fault.,The Veteran's claim for TDIU due to service-connected disabilities is remanded as there was no evidence showing that any increase in disability or additional disability following the May 2011 left long finger trigger release was proximately due to VA's fault.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render her unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation, resulting in the denial of TDIU.

The Veteran's claim for reopening of service connection for tinnitus was granted, and the claim for secondary service connection for tinnitus due to right ear hearing loss was also granted.,The Veteran's right ear hearing loss is currently rated as noncompensable.