The Board denied the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection due to bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that December 29, 2000, was the appropriate effective date as it is the date of receipt of his claim.

The deciding factor: The effective date cannot be earlier than the date of receipt of the claim or the date entitlement arose, whichever is later. In this case, the veteran's claim for service connection was received on December 29, 2000, and thus that date became the effective date.

Claimed conditions

bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, bilateral tinnitus

How they argued it

Direct service connection

Exposure basis

None

Rating assigned

None in this decision

Decision date

March 13, 2003

Citation

0304611

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 0304611.