Vertigo & vestibular disorders decisions — 2001

The veteran is granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to his service-connected Meniere's Disease.

The Board has reopened the claim for service connection of Meniere's disease, but it is not determined whether this condition is related to service-connected hearing loss or tinnitus.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for arthritis of the cervical, dorsal and lumbar spine, hypertension, memory loss and disorientation, vertigo, and diabetes mellitus. The evidence submitted since the last final decision is not new or material.

The Board has determined that there is no current evidence of residuals of a left ankle sprain or decompression sickness including vertigo and hearing loss, and the veteran's service-connected hemorrhoids are currently rated as 10 percent disabling. The appeal for these issues is denied.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an effective date prior to January 5, 1998 for a TDIU as it was factually ascertainable that he was entitled to such on that date but not within the one-year period prior to his October 22, 1997 claim.

The Board found that the veteran's service-connected disabilities did not render her unemployable on an ascertainable date prior to September 12, 1997 and denied the claim for an earlier effective date.

The Board has determined that the veteran's Meniere's Disease, including symptoms of vertigo, is attributable to service and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current bilateral hearing loss, vertigo, and vestibular dysfunction are related to his service-connected shell fragment wound in the right ear. As such, the claim for secondary service connection is granted.

The veteran seeks service connection for Meniere's disease, which he contends was incurred during his military service. The Board has determined that the issue of entitlement to increased evaluations for defective hearing and residuals of surgical repair of perforations of the tympanic membranes should be referred back to the RO for clarification. Further development is required due to changes in the law regarding VA assistance to claimants.

The Board found that the veteran's Meniere's syndrome did not warrant an evaluation in excess of 30 percent from June 16, 1997 to June 10, 1999 and denied his claim for a higher rating thereafter.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claim for restoration of a 30 percent disability rating for Meniere's syndrome is denied as a matter of law, and his claims for compensable ratings for Meniere's syndrome and bilateral hearing loss are also denied.

The Board has determined that the veteran's Meniere's disease is related to head trauma sustained during service, and thus grants service connection for this condition.

The veteran is granted an effective date of May 14, 1952 for his service connection for residuals of a concussion with Meniere's Syndrome. The RO must also consider whether he was entitled to a compensable rating as of that date.

The Board granted a 30 percent evaluation for the veteran's peripheral vestibular vertigo with bilateral intermittent tinnitus and denied entitlement to an effective date earlier than January 24, 1990, for service connection of various ear disabilities.

The veteran's service-connected left ear hearing loss is currently rated as noncompensable, and his residuals of a gunshot wound to the right hand are currently rated at 10 percent. The claim for increased evaluation for left ear hearing loss was denied, while the claim for increased evaluation for residuals of gunshot wound to the right hand was granted.