The Veteran's initial claim for a compensable rating for service-connected psychiatric disability was granted, with an effective date of February 19, 2015.,Service connection for tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss were also granted.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran’s symptoms most closely approximated total occupational and social impairment due to his psychiatric disability, warranting a 100% rating. For tinnitus, the Board considered the Veteran's in-service noise exposure and credible statements regarding continuous ringing in his ears since service, leading to a finding of service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- Other specified trauma and stressor related disorder (claimed as posttraumatic stress disorder) ('psychiatric disability'), Tinnitus, Bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 8, 2020
- Citation
- 20024300
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 20024300.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a low back disorder was reopened, and his claims for increased ratings of bilateral knee instability were granted. His hearing loss claim was denied.
- 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.
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