The Board has determined that the effective date for the grant of a separate 10 percent rating for cranial nerve VII due to Frey Syndrome should not be earlier than March 2, 2015. The Veteran's claims for service connection and higher ratings are remanded for further development.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there is no factually ascertainable evidence showing an increase in the service-connected disability prior to March 2, 2015.
- Claimed conditions
- Frey Syndrome, Bilateral Hearing Loss, Tinnitus, Sleep Apnea (claimed as fatigue), Degenerative Disc Disease of the Lumbar Spine, Degenerative Joint Disease of the Right Knee, Left Knee Disability, Headaches, Hypertension, Acquired Psychiatric Disorder (Depression), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Vocal Cord Disability, Parotidectomy Residuals
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 4, 2019
- Citation
- 19143157
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,429 · Granted: 29% (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 19143157.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected knee disabilities are rated at 10% each, and the Board finds that higher ratings are not warranted based on the evidence of record.
- 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 has determined that the Veteran's bilateral knee disabilities are not related to his active service, and thus denied both claims for service connection.
- Granted
The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorder are remanded for additional development, including a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.
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