An earlier effective date of November 12, 2004, for a 10 percent rating for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is granted.

Board reasoning

The Board found that the Veteran had sufficient GERD symptoms since service connection was granted on November 12, 2004, to warrant a 10 percent rating. It applied the symptoms flexibly by rating by analogy to hiatal hernia (DC 7346) and concluded the earliest date achievable for the 10 percent rating is the grant date of November 12, 2004, relying on multiple medical records showing recurrent GERD symptoms and ongoing treatment across years; the examiner's 2012 report was deemed internally inconsistent but the diagnosis of GERD was established by later imaging, and the July 2023 examination documented symptoms supporting the 10 percent rating.