The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for bilateral hearing loss and an effective date prior to August 18, 2009, for the award of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus was denied. The Board found that there is no legal authority for the assignment of an effective date prior to August 18, 2009, for the awards of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus under the circumstances presented.
The deciding factor: The March 1993 rating decision denying service connection was a final decision. The Veteran did not file a claim to reopen until August 18, 2009, which is when he received his awards of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral Hearing Loss, Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- October 12, 2018
- Citation
- 18141971
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 18141971.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for depressive disorder as secondary to hypertension and tinnitus, but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and an increased rating for hypertension.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, but remanded the claim for degenerative disc disease with degenerative arthritis.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
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