The Veteran's claim for service connection of an acquired psychiatric disorder, tinnitus, back condition, neck condition, and bilateral SNHL has been reopened. Service connection is granted for the acquired psychiatric disorder. Tinnitus is also granted as service connected. The claims for back condition, neck condition, and bilateral SNHL are denied.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's claim of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder was reopened due to new evidence received since the final November 1994 rating decision. Service connection for tinnitus is granted based on in-service noise exposure. The claims for back condition, neck condition, and bilateral SNHL are denied as there is no current diagnosis or credible evidence linking these conditions to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired Psychiatric Disorder (including unspecified depressive disorder, PTSD, and/or schizophrenia), Tinnitus, Back Condition, Neck Condition, Bilateral Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SNHL)
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 18, 2019
- Citation
- 19119214
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,548 · Granted: 31% (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 19119214.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a higher rating for PTSD and dismissed his appeals regarding increased ratings for tinnitus and a right hand disability due to lack of timely filing of Notice of Disagreement.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including GAD, MDD, bruxism, migraines/headaches, tinnitus, hip pain, iliotibial band syndrome, and leg stress fractures. The evidence does not support current diagnoses of these conditions during the appeal period.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral pes planus with hammer toes, hallux valgus and degenerative arthritis, sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and bilateral kidney cysts, rendered him unable to secure or follow gainful employment. The Board granted the TDIU based on these conditions.
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