Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) decisions — 2024

The Board 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 Veteran's claims for service connection for fibromyalgia, psychiatric disability other than unspecified anxiety disorder with unspecified neurocognitive disorder, and urination disability were denied. The claim for an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for migraine headaches was also denied.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development and examination as they are not adequately addressed in the current record.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim of service connection for tinnitus, finding that new and relevant evidence supports this decision. The Veteran's tinnitus is considered to have had its onset during his active duty service and has persisted since.

The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service connected, but his low back disability is denied.

The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service connected. The hearing loss claim is remanded due to a duty-to-assist error.

The Board has granted service connection for treatment purposes only for a lumbar spine disability. The appeal regarding bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, left knee disability, and PTSD is remanded due to incomplete service personnel records.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection have been denied. The Board found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating or service connection in all cases.

The Board has granted a TDIU and established basic eligibility for Dependents' Education Assistance benefits due to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities. The combined rating of his service-connected conditions is 90 percent, meeting the criteria for a TDIU.

The Board has found that the Veteran's tinnitus began in service and is related to military noise exposure, granting his claim for service connection.

The Board has remanded the claims for increased disability ratings due to insufficient evidence and further review is required.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, but has remanded the issues of service connection for ischemic heart disease, prostate cancer, hypertension, diabetes mellitus type II, and diabetic peripheral neuropathy due to incomplete service records and lack of verification of herbicide agent exposure.

The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service connection due to exposure to noise during active duty.,Bilateral hearing loss and hypertension are denied as there is no current disability meeting VA criteria for these conditions.

The Board has decided to remand the claims for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for tinnitus and vertigo due to duty-to-assist errors, specifically failing to obtain VA treatment records associated with the claims file.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for a mental health disability and tinnitus have been granted with effective dates of December 6, 2017.

The Veteran is granted special monthly compensation based on aid and attendance due to his service-connected disabilities, but denied housebound status and TBI-based SMC.

The Board has found the records incomplete and remanded for several reasons, including obtaining updated private treatment records from the Veteran's ENT provider and VA treatment records. Additionally, a new examination is required to assess the severity of the Veteran's left knee disability due to inadequate previous examination.

The Board has restored the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability rating from 30% to 30%, effective April 1, 2024. The claim for service connection for tinnitus is granted.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are remanded due to procedural errors in the VA examinations and lack of audiometric records from his active duty period.

The Board found that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, as his symptoms and limitations were manageable with current treatment.