The Veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for bilateral hearing loss is denied.,The Veteran's claim for a disability rating greater than 10 percent for bilateral tinnitus, including on an extraschedular basis, is denied.,The Veteran's claim for TDIU based on his service-connected disabilities is granted.
The deciding factor: The criteria for a compensable disability rating for bilateral hearing loss have not been met as the Veteran’s most recent audiometric testing results yield a numeric designation of Level I in the right ear and Level II in the left ear, equating to a zero percent (non-compensable) disability rating under DC 6100.,The criteria for a disability rating greater than 10 percent for bilateral tinnitus have not been met as the Veteran's service-connected tinnitus is evaluated at the maximum schedular rating of 10 percent, and there are no exceptional or unusual circumstances that would warrant an extraschedular evaluation.,The Veteran meets the scheduler criteria for a TDIU due to his service-connected disabilities including PTSD, bilateral hearing loss, and bilateral tinnitus. The Veteran's work history shows he has largely worked in landscaping for over 20 years, but was let go from four of five employers because of his service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, bilateral tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 18, 2020
- Citation
- 20019919
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 20019919.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss claim, specifically needing an addendum opinion from a VA examiner. The Veteran will be asked to provide any missing records and former employers' information.
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