The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus and an earlier effective date for a 40 percent rating for his right shoulder disability. The Veteran's claim for tinnitus was not granted as there is no evidence of in-service noise exposure or combat-related injury. For the right shoulder disability, the Board found that the higher evaluation was not warranted before December 9, 2010.
The deciding factor: The effective date for an increased rating cannot be earlier than the date of claim due to lack of evidence showing a pre-existing increase in disability prior to December 9, 2010. For tinnitus, there is no credible evidence of noise exposure during service and thus service connection cannot be granted.
- Claimed conditions
- tinnitus, minimal degenerative changes of the right shoulder, including frozen shoulder syndrome
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 20, 2014
- Citation
- 1407239
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 1407239.
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.
- 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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