The Veteran's claim for an effective date of April 30, 2014 for the grant of service connection for tinnitus is granted. The claims for bilateral hearing loss, left knee disorder, right knee disorder, back disorder, and psychiatric disorder are remanded.
The deciding factor: The effective date was determined based on the date of receipt of the claim or the date entitlement arose, whichever is later. In this case, the claim was received on April 30, 2014, but the Board found that entitlement to benefits arose prior to that date due to a June 2015 VA examination indicating tinnitus onset in the late 1980s and related to noise exposure in service.
- Claimed conditions
- tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss, left knee disorder, right knee disorder, back disorder, psychiatric disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 22, 2021
- Citation
- 21009356
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 21009356.
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.
- 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and providing proper notice regarding secondary service connection.
- 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 service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
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