The Veteran's current bilateral tinnitus is etiologically related to his active service.,No hearing loss disability has been presented at any time during the pendency of the claim.,The Veteran does not have a diagnosis of a cervical spine disorder.,The Veteran does not have a diagnosis of a traumatic brain injury.,The Veteran does not have a diagnosis of a headache disorder.,The Board lacks jurisdiction over the claims for service connection for scar, right side of the head and residuals of a right-hand laceration, to include a scar because these claims were granted in October 2013 and rendered moot.,The claim of entitlement to service connection for amblyopia of the right eye is remanded.

The deciding factor: Service connection is granted for disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active duty. The Veteran's current bilateral tinnitus was etiologically related to his active service.,The evidence does not show that the Veteran has a hearing loss disability, as defined by VA regulations, and therefore service connection is not warranted.,Service treatment records are negative for complaints of, treatment for, or diagnoses of a cervical spine disorder, TBI/head injury, or headache disorder. Post-service records are also negative for these disabilities.,The Veteran's lay assertions regarding in-service noise exposure and ringing in his ears since service are considered credible evidence, as tinnitus is a subjective sensation that can be described by the claimant.,There is no medical evidence of record showing that the Veteran has ever had sufficient hearing impairment to qualify as a disability for VA compensation purposes. The Board recognizes the Veteran's belief but finds it not supported by the evidence.,The Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of a cervical spine, TBI, or headache disorder and therefore service connection is not warranted.,The claims were granted in October 2013 and rendered moot due to the grant of service connection. The Board lacks jurisdiction over these claims on appeal.

Claimed conditions

bilateral tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss, cervical spine disability, traumatic brain injury (TBI), headache disorder

How they argued it

Direct service connection

Exposure basis

None

Rating assigned

None in this decision

Decision date

September 25, 2018

Citation

18137966

This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 18137966.