The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, finding that the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether it was incurred during active duty due to noise exposure. However, there is no evidence of a current psychiatric disability.,Service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability was denied because there is no competent medical evidence showing the Veteran has had such a condition at any point during or near the appeal period.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the evidence was in equipoise regarding whether tinnitus, which the Veteran claims developed due to noise exposure during service, was incurred then. However, there is no current diagnosis of tinnitus.,For the psychiatric disability claim, the VA examiner determined that the Veteran does not have a mental health condition that meets DSM-5 criteria and did not find any link between his in-service noise exposure and his current symptoms.
- Claimed conditions
- tinnitus, an acquired psychiatric disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 27, 2019
- Citation
- 19196534
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,188 · Granted: 23% (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 19196534.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service connected. The issues of foot disability and cardiovascular disorder are remanded for additional development.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, finding that it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran experienced tinnitus during his active duty service.
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