Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2024

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss, and hypertension have been denied as the evidence does not meet the criteria for a higher rating under VA regulations.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for PTSD, TBI, tension headaches, a lumbar spine compression fracture, a right elbow fracture, scars of the right forearm, neuropathy of the right upper extremity, a right wrist fracture, and tinnitus previously found to be service connected for treatment purposes only is dismissed. Service connection for a right knee disability is granted.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that there is no evidence of a current disability meeting VA criteria or a link to service.

The Board denied service connection for a lumbar spine disability, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus as the evidence did not support a link to the Veteran's service or any service-connected condition.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus, finding that the evidence did not support a nexus between these conditions and service.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the evidence did not support current disabilities of these conditions. For tinnitus specifically, the Board noted no evidence of onset within a year of separation from service.

The Veteran's appeal includes multiple claims for increased disability ratings and TDIU. The Board has identified several records that are not in the claims file, including SSA records and VA treatment records from VistA Imaging system. These records may be relevant to the instant appeals.

The Veteran's asthma was granted an earlier effective date of August 20, 2021.,The Veteran's TDIU claim was also granted with an effective date of August 20, 2021.

The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as secondary to service-connected bilateral hearing loss. The Board has remanded the issues of left upper extremity, right upper extremity, left lower extremity, and right lower extremity neuropathy due to exposure to herbicides.

The Veteran's tinnitus started during her military service and has continued since then. The Board found that the condition is related to her noise exposure in service, granting her claim for service connection.

The Board has remanded several issues for further development, including obtaining proper authorizations for private treatment records and providing a new medical opinion regarding the Veteran's wrist disability. The claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, ruptured eardrum, back disability, right knee disability, gout and/or pseudogout/CPPD, left foot disability, osteophytosis of the thumb/metacarpal surgery, wrist disability, eye/vision disability, and obstructive sleep apnea are also remanded.

The Veteran's service connection claim for bilateral tinnitus is granted as his current disability of tinnitus is related to his military service.

The Board has decided to remand the claims of service connection for PTSD and tinnitus due to a duty-to-assist error. The Veteran's claim is being recharacterized under Clemons v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 1 (2009), which requires VA to obtain an examination to expand the Veteran's claim to include any acquired psychiatric disorder including and other than PTSD.

The Board has denied service connection for left ear hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service. The claim for residuals of a left ear injury is remanded due to inadequate medical opinions.,Service connection was granted for right ear hearing loss in an October 2024 rating decision.

The Board granted service connection for tinnitus, resolving any reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor based on his lay statements of chronic symptoms since an in-service onset.

The Veteran's service-connected back, left leg radiculopathy, and tinnitus disabilities prevented him from retaining substantially gainful employment from December 2, 2013, to February 6, 2018. The Board granted a TDIU for this period.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus but has remanded the claim for bilateral hearing loss due to insufficient evidence in the January 2021 VA examination report.

The Veteran's appeal for a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for tinnitus has been dismissed.,The Veteran's appeal for a compensable disability rating for erectile dysfunction has been dismissed.,The Veteran's appeal for a disability rating in excess of 70 percent for major depressive disorder has been denied.

The Veteran's tinnitus began in service and has continued since, meeting the criteria for service connection.,The Veteran experienced a stressor related to his father's death during service, which is sufficient to establish service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD).

The Veteran's tinnitus is related to his in-service noise exposure, and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.