The appellant's PTSD was granted an effective date of February 7, 2022. His initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss remains denied. The Board has remanded the claims for migraine headaches and allergic rhinitis to allow for further evaluation.,TDIU is also currently pending and will be addressed in a future decision.
The deciding factor: The appellant's PTSD showed an increase in disability within one year of his claim, allowing for an effective date prior to the initial claim filing. The VA treatment records indicate that the appellant had increased suicidal ideation in February 2022 and March 2022, which is considered a factually ascertainable increase.,The appellant's bilateral hearing loss was evaluated using audiometric results from both March 2023 and January 2024. The average hearing thresholds were consistently below the threshold for a compensable rating under VA regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Bilateral Hearing Loss, Migraine Headaches, Allergic Rhinitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- January 15, 2026
- Citation
- A26004175
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 A26004175.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is granted as the evidence shows a current diagnosis of PTSD, an in-service stressor, and a medical link between the two.
- Denied
The Veteran's PTSD has been rated at 50% since March 23, 2004. The Board found that a higher rating is not warranted prior to February 15, 2005 due to the severity of his symptoms and their impact on his social and occupational functioning.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and any acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that there was no evidence to support a link between his current mental health conditions and his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD resulted in occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity, warranting a 70% disability rating. The Veteran also met the criteria for a TDIU due to his service-connected disabilities preventing him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.
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