The Board has denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus. The claim for a low back disability is remanded.,The claim for an initial rating greater than 10 percent for tinnitus remains denied as the appellant is already receiving the maximum schedular rating.,The claim for a low back disability is remanded due to lack of evidence on record regarding its onset and etiology during service.,The claim for a right lazy eye is remanded due to lack of evidence on record regarding its onset and etiology during service.,The claims for migraines (including as aggravated by tinnitus) and psychiatric disability (including as aggravated by tinnitus) are both remanded due to the need for further medical examination and opinion.,The claim for an effective date earlier than May 29, 2013, for service connection of tinnitus is remanded.

The deciding factor: There is no evidence of a hearing loss disability for VA purposes during the pendency of the claim or recent to the filing of the claim.,The appellant's service-connected bilateral tinnitus has been assigned the maximum schedular rating available, and thus no higher schedular evaluation is warranted.,The appellant’s assertion that he has had back pain since his active duty service, combined with evidence of mild degenerative changes in his spine, indicates a possible relationship to service. Further examination is needed to determine if this disability is related to service.,The appellant's assertion that he has had a right eye disability since his active duty service, combined with evidence of decreased visual acuity and blurred vision, indicates a possible relationship to service. Further examination is needed to determine if this disability is related to service.,While the private examiner found the appellant’s migraine headaches are aggravated by his service-connected tinnitus, the opinion did not provide a baseline severity or an onset date for the disability. Therefore, further medical examination and opinion is needed to establish service connection under a theory of aggravation.,The appellant's assertion that he has had psychiatric disabilities since his active duty service, combined with evidence of migraine headaches, indicates a possible relationship to service. Further examination is needed to determine if this disability is related to service.

Claimed conditions

Bilateral Hearing Loss, Low Back Disability, Migraines (including as aggravated by service-connected tinnitus), Psychiatric Disability (including as aggravated by service-connected tinnitus), Right Lazy Eye, Tinnitus

How they argued it

Not specified

Exposure basis

None

Rating assigned

None in this decision

Decision date

January 17, 2019

Citation

19104294

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 19104294.