The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for bilateral hearing loss was denied, and his claim for an earlier effective date for the award of a 30 percent disability rating for generalized anxiety disorder is dismissed. The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder (formerly diagnosed as psychogenic skin reaction) has been granted increased ratings: 50% prior to June 11, 2018, and greater than 50% from that date.
The deciding factor: The effective dates were not established due to the lack of new evidence within one year of the April 2003 rating decision for the award of a 30 percent disability rating for generalized anxiety disorder. The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date was dismissed as it is not allowed in cases where service connection has already been granted.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, generalized anxiety disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- December 23, 2019
- Citation
- 19196108
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,088 · Granted: 33% (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 19196108.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss claim, specifically needing an addendum opinion from a VA examiner. The Veteran will be asked to provide any missing records and former employers' information.
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