The veteran seeks an effective date earlier than July 27, 2001 for the awards of service connection for hearing loss and tinnitus. However, there was no pending claim for these conditions prior to July 27, 2001, when he filed a claim for an increased rating for otitis media.
The deciding factor: The veteran did not file a specific claim for service connection for hearing loss or tinnitus prior to July 27, 2001. The RO granted service connection and assigned initial ratings effective from that date based on VA examinations conducted in November 2001 and January 2002.
- Claimed conditions
- hearing loss, tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 10, 2006
- Citation
- 0624140
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,196 · Granted: 17% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0624140.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service connected. The issues of foot disability and cardiovascular disorder are remanded for additional development.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, finding that it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran experienced tinnitus during his active duty service.
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