Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) Board decisions

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to obtain the Veteran's VA treatment records and private practitioner records, as well as a VA examination for tinnitus. The case will be remanded for these actions.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus is being remanded due to the need for a VA examination, clarification of medical records, and additional development.

The Board has decided that new and material evidence was not received to reopen the claim of service connection for tinnitus, but has remanded the issue of whether the Veteran's current hearing loss is related to service. The decision on the hearing loss claim will be based on a determination by a VA examiner.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to his service, granting service connection for both conditions.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claim for service connection was not received prior to June 13, 2008. As such, the effective date for his granted benefits is set at June 13, 2008.

The Board found that the Veteran's tinnitus did not occur during service or for many years thereafter and is not related to his active service, including noise exposure. As a result, the claim of service connection for tinnitus was denied.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus and denied service connection for a right eye disorder. Tinnitus is found to be related to in-service noise exposure, while the right eye disorder does not have sufficient evidence of continuity of symptoms since service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, hypertension, and coronary artery disease have been granted.

The Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence is against a grant of service connection for tinnitus, as there are no clinical manifestations of tinnitus within the applicable time period and continuity of symptoms has not been established.

The Board found that the Veteran's hearing loss and tinnitus did not have a direct relationship to his military service, as evidenced by normal audiometric results during service and no reported symptoms or issues post-service. The claims were therefore denied.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, chronic bronchitis, and glomerulonephritis with hematuria as there is no competent evidence of current disabilities.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are found to be related to his military service, specifically exposure to loud artillery fire during his MOS as a field artilleryman. Service connection is granted for these conditions.

The Veteran's service connection claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were denied as there was no evidence of in-service noise exposure or a current disability.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's tinnitus did not occur during service and is unrelated to any in-service noise exposure. As a result, the claim for service connection for tinnitus is denied.

The Veteran's tinnitus is found to be related to his in-service noise exposure and service connection for this condition is granted.

The Veteran's service-connected conditions do not meet the schedular requirements for assignment of a total disability rating based on individual unemployability.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran did not have a current disability as defined by VA regulations. The Board also found no evidence of chronic symptoms during or after service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to his active service, and therefore denied both claims.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development and requests for additional records, including from Cedar-Sinai Medical Care Foundation. The Veteran is also requested to provide information regarding his treatment history post-service.

The Veteran's service-connected skin erythema has been rated at a noncompensable level since the date of service connection, November 29, 2007. The Board finds that a rating by analogy to urticaria under Diagnostic Code (DC) 7825 is warranted for this period.