The Board denied an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for hearing loss and granted an effective date of August 5, 2021, for the award of service connection for chronic sinusitis. The claims for increased ratings and additional service connection were also denied or remanded.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's February 2022 claim for tinnitus should not have been construed as a claim for hearing loss, and there was no indication that he submitted a claim for benefits for hearing loss earlier than May 17, 2024. For sinusitis, the claim was filed within one year of the liberalizing law under the PACT Act.
- Claimed conditions
- hearing loss, chronic sinusitis, psychiatric disorder other than other specified stressor or trauma related disorder (previously rated as panic disorder with depressive disorder and cannabis use disorder), neck condition, left knee, right knee, left ankle, right ankle, left shoulder, right shoulder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 28, 2025
- Citation
- A25093138
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,170 · Granted: 38% (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 A25093138.
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.
- 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.
- Granted
The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for hearing loss and tinnitus. However, it was determined that the Veteran does not have a current disability of bilateral hearing loss or tinnitus for VA purposes, thus denying both claims.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for chronic rhinitis, chronic sinusitis, and chronic fatigue syndrome as there is no evidence of a current disability in the record.
- Denied
The Veteran's tinnitus and hearing loss claims are denied as there is no current diagnosis of these conditions.,The Veteran's high cholesterol, dementia, stroke, prostate cancer, cataracts, diabetes, hypertension, CHF, and myocardial infarction claims are denied due to lack of service connection evidence or insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between the disabilities and active duty service.,The Veteran was exposed to toxins during his military service but there is no evidence linking these exposures to any of the claimed conditions.
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