Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for substance abuse including alcohol use disorder, and denied earlier effective dates for hearing loss and tinnitus. The claims for service connection for knee and shoulder disabilities were remanded.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not support a finding that the Veteran's substance abuse was proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected disabilities. For the hearing loss and tinnitus, an earlier effective date was denied as no informal claim was shown prior to August 2, 2022.
- Claimed conditions
- Substance abuse including alcohol use disorder, Hearing loss, Tinnitus, Right knee disability, Left knee disability, Right shoulder disability, Left shoulder disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 14, 2025
- Citation
- A25088165
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