Anxiety decisions — 2018

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the relationship between the Veteran's residuals of traumatic brain injury and his claimed conditions, including tremors, visual impairment, anxiety, stroke, and a right and left eye disorder.

The Board has decided that a VA examination is needed to determine if the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability, other than his personality disorder, is related to service.

The Board denied the Veteran's request to reopen his claim for service connection for right arm numbness and remanded his claim for an increased evaluation for anxiety disorder.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to an error in using DSM-5 criteria instead of DSM-IV during a previous examination. The Veteran needs to be examined again to determine if he has any acquired psychiatric disabilities, including anxiety, depression, and PTSD, and whether these are related to his service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been reopened and are granted. However, the appeals for other conditions remain pending as they require further development.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for tinnitus is denied as there is no credible evidence linking his current condition to military service.,Service connection is granted for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including depression and anxiety, with the presumption that it was incurred during active duty.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, but has remanded the issue of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder.

The Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disability (claimed as post-traumatic stress disorder) is rated at 30 percent, which does not meet the criteria for a higher rating. The Board finds that his symptoms do not warrant an increased rating to 50 percent or above.

The Board has vacated its previous decision and is remanding the claims for additional development due to failure to provide proper notice of scheduled VA examinations.

The Board finds the February 2014 VA examination incomplete and requires additional opinion to assess the nature of the Veteran's diagnosed adjustment disorder, which may be related to service or any incident of service, including the claimed sexual trauma during service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and other related conditions, is being remanded due to the need for additional evidence and clarification of his claims.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an unspecified anxiety disorder is granted, and the claim for reopening of his original claim for service connection for PTSD and unspecified anxiety disorder is also granted.

The Board has remanded several issues, including service connection for various conditions and an initial rating for chronic fatigue syndrome. Additional VA records are needed, and a psychiatric examination is required.

The Veteran's adjustment disorder with anxiety and depressed mood is granted a rating of 70 percent, effective from the date of the decision. Service connection for depression remains denied.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, an acquired psychiatric disorder (claimed as PTSD, generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder), and a low back disability due to lack of evidence showing in-service injury or disease.

The Veteran's service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, MDD and anxiety is remanded due to the need for additional medical examination.

The Veteran's anxiety disorder is rated at 70 percent effective April 13, 2015. The claim for TDIU prior to June 13, 2017, is denied as the Veteran was not found unemployable due to his service-connected conditions.

The Board dismissed the claim of entitlement to compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for Hepatitis C due to the Veteran's withdrawal at his August 2017 hearing. The remaining issues, including service connection and increased ratings for left knee disability, are remanded.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been reopened and granted. The acquired psychiatric disorder is now rated at 10 percent, and a separate rating of 10 percent has been assigned for gastric ulcers.

The Board has granted service connection for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) on a secondary basis to diabetes, which is the Veteran's service-connected condition.