Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) Board decisions

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not preclude him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation during the appellate period from May 30, 2008 to June 22, 2009.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render him unemployable, and thus his claim for TDIU is denied.

The Veteran's combined rating of 70 percent due to service-connected disabilities does not meet the criteria for a TDIU as his disorders do not preclude him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from obtaining and retaining substantially gainful employment.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral heel spurs, tinnitus, and right foot disability. The decision also found that there was no new and material evidence to reopen the claim for bilateral heel spurs.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied. The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for tinnitus is also denied as the current schedular evaluation is adequate.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development due to missing service records and unavailability of private treatment records. The case will be reviewed after the necessary steps are taken.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for specially adapted housing, special home adaptation assistance, or financial assistance in purchasing an automobile and adaptive equipment.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for a lumbar spine disability and determined that new evidence supports this reopening. The Veteran does not have any of the claimed conditions, including back, knee, foot, elbow, hearing loss, tinnitus, diabetes mellitus type 2, heart disease, or psychiatric disorders, that were incurred in or aggravated by his service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for tinnitus has been granted. The Board found that the evidence was in equipoise, and therefore determined that it is as likely as not that the Veteran's current tinnitus disability is related to his military service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current bilateral hearing loss disability or tinnitus due to service, and thus denied both claims.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current tinnitus is related to his service, and thus grants service connection for this condition.

The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to his military service, including noise exposure during service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to the RO/AMC for additional development, including scheduling a VA audiological examination and obtaining an opinion regarding any relationship between his claimed disabilities and service.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to address the Veteran's claims for service connection and increased rating, including obtaining supplemental opinions from VA examiners regarding the etiology of his disabilities.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are related to his military service. The decision is based on credible evidence of acoustic trauma in service and post-service audiometric findings meeting VA criteria.

The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding of current hearing loss or tinnitus as a result of service, and thus denied both claims.

The Board found that the Veteran's right ear hearing loss disability is not related to his in-service noise exposure and thus denied service connection for this condition. The claim for tinnitus was also denied as there was no evidence of a nexus between the current condition and service.

The Veteran's claims for earlier effective date and increased ratings for tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss disability are denied as there is no legal merit to the claims. The Board finds that a compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss disability is not warranted.

The Board has conceded the Veteran's exposure to acoustic trauma during service. However, there is no evidence of continuous symptoms or a link between current tinnitus and hearing loss and in-service noise exposure. The VA examiner found that the onset of tinnitus did not correlate with dates of military service and that the Veteran's hearing was normal on separation physical.