Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) Board decisions

The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were first shown many years after separation from service, and the preponderance of the competent medical evidence is against a relationship between these conditions and military service.

The Veteran meets the schedular requirements for TDIU due to service-connected disabilities, but his unemployability is not solely due to these conditions as he has successfully used hearing aids and retired from his job in 1991.

The Veteran's tinnitus and low back disorder are service-connected, but his bilateral knee disorder claim is denied as new evidence does not establish a link to service.

The Board found no evidence of asbestos exposure during service and denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for lung disorders, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus. The claim for silicosis was also denied.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for hearing loss due to new evidence. The Veteran's tinnitus claim is remanded for issuance of a Statement of the Case.

The Board denied service connection for a vascular disability, tinnitus, and rhinitis. The Veteran's current conditions were not related to his military service.

The Board has granted service connection for Major Depressive Disorder as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected tinnitus. The Veteran meets the criteria for a TDIU based on his combined rating of 60 percent from his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities (bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus) prevent him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation, meeting the criteria for TDIU.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of bilateral hearing loss or tinnitus related to service. The evidence is against a finding that these conditions are due to noise exposure in service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to his military service, including exposure to artillery noise. As a result, service connection for these conditions is denied.

The Board has granted service connection for PTSD, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus. The Veteran's current diagnoses of PTSD, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus are supported by medical evidence linking them to his military service.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, are not shown to preclude him from securing and following substantially gainful employment prior to May 29, 2008.

The VA has denied the claim for an earlier effective date for granting service connection for tinnitus, as the earliest possible effective date is August 9, 2006, when the appellant submitted his original claim.

The Board found that the appellant's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to service, including noise exposure. As a result, the claims for these conditions were denied.

The Board has determined that the appellant's claimed tinnitus was not incurred in or aggravated by military service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA and private medical records, scheduling a VA examination of his service connected disabilities, and determining whether he is unemployable due to his service-connected conditions.

The Board found that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are not related to his period of active military service, as there is no evidence of a nexus between these conditions and his combat noise exposure. The preponderance of the evidence does not support the claim for service connection.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that new and material evidence had not been received to reopen the claim for hearing loss and there was no medical evidence suggesting a link between current tinnitus and service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for tinnitus, finding that there is no evidence of current disability. The other issues were not addressed in this decision.

The Veteran's claim for an initial rating higher than 10 percent for tinnitus is denied as the maximum schedular rating of 10 percent has already been assigned.