The Veteran's PTSD is granted and rated at 70 percent, effective from May 24, 2016. Bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and sleep apnea are also granted. Hypertension remains denied.
The deciding factor: PTSD was found to meet the criteria for a 70% rating based on occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas due to symptoms such as near-continuous depression, ongoing anxiety, mild memory loss, difficulty adapting to stressful circumstances, sporadic suicidal ideation, alcohol abuse, and sleep disturbances.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, hypertension, sleep apnea
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- August 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19160461
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 19160461.
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.
- Granted
The Board granted an effective date of October 21, 2021, for the grant of service connection for hypertension.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for tinnitus to correct a duty to assist error, as the Veteran's lay statements regarding onset and continuity of symptoms were not adequately considered in the previous decision.
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