The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including his left shoulder disability and tinnitus, render him unemployable. The Board granted total disability due to individual unemployability (TDIU) based on the combined effect of these conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners consistently found significant functional impairment in the Veteran's left arm, limiting his ability to perform jobs requiring lifting or reaching with his left upper extremity.
- Claimed conditions
- left shoulder disability, rotator cuff tear with arthritis, tinnitus, deviated nasal septum, tender nasal scar
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- December 21, 2020
- Citation
- 20080185
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 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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for tinnitus, cubital tunnel syndrome, right plantar fasciitis, and a right knee disability due to the lack of evidence supporting a nexus between these conditions and the Veteran's military service.
- Granted
The Board granted an effective date of April 25, 2022, for the award of service connection for tinnitus and a 100 percent initial rating for PTSD with alcohol use disorder.
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