The Veteran's appeals regarding his initial rating for adjustment disorder, reopening of previously denied claims for bilateral hearing loss and knee disabilities, and service connection for tinnitus were all denied due to various procedural issues and lack of new evidence.
The deciding factor: The appeal was not timely filed as the August 2010 submission did not constitute a proper Substantive Appeal. The January 1993 rating decision denying bilateral hearing loss and knee disabilities became final as no new and material evidence was submitted within the appeal period.
- Claimed conditions
- Adjustment Disorder, Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 28, 2014
- Citation
- 1418592
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 1418592.
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 decided to remand the case due to a lack of rationale in the VA examiner's opinion and an inconsistency between the examination report and nexus opinion.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for adjustment disorder and hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence of in-service onset or relationship to military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's irritable bowel syndrome is granted a rating of 30 percent, the maximum schedular rating under Diagnostic Code 7319. Service connection for migraine headaches as secondary to service connected tinnitus and PTSD is also granted.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected adjustment disorder was not manifested by occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas or total occupational and social impairment at any point during the appeal period. The criteria for entitlement to an initial rating higher than 50 percent for service-connected adjustment disorder have not been met.
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