The veteran is entitled to an effective date of October 13, 2003, for the assignment of a 10 percent disability rating for tinnitus.
The deciding factor: Based on the veteran's credible testimony and the fact that he has had recurrent tinnitus since discharge from active duty service, an effective date of up to one year prior to the date of the claim can be assigned.
- Claimed conditions
- tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- May 20, 2008
- Citation
- 0816502
Veterans Law Judge
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 0816502.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
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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