Anxiety decisions — 2022

The Board has decided to remand the service connection claims for bilateral hearing loss, right ankle injury, right shoulder injury, and low back injury due to potential outstanding service treatment records. The psychiatric disability claim is also remanded for a new VA examination.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, hypertension, and peripheral neuropathy of the hands and feet due to potential in-service onset or aggravation. The Veteran's reports of preexisting disability are presumed sound.

The Veteran's hypertension is granted as presumptively related to his service due to exposure to herbicide agents. The claims for acquired psychiatric disability, stroke and multiple TIAs, and vascular dementia are remanded for further examination.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for further evaluation of his anxiety disorder and TBI, as well as clarification of his employment status. The Board finds pre-decisional duty to assist errors in the current rating decision.

The Veteran's previously denied claim for SMC for housebound status or the need for regular aid and attendance is being remanded due to new and relevant evidence submitted after the July 2019 rating decision.

The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, including depression and anxiety, finding that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of such conditions.

Service connection for tinnitus has been granted.,Service connection for bilateral hearing loss has been denied. The Board has remanded the issue of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder (to include anxiety and depression) secondary to service-connected coronary artery disease.

The Board found that the Veteran's service-connected burn scars and anxiety disorder NOS did not render him unable to obtain or maintain substantially gainful employment prior to September 2019, but remanded for further development regarding his TDIU claim from September 2019 onwards.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for a left knee disability, hypertension, and an acquired psychiatric condition (including anxiety disorder and depression) have been dismissed as the appeals are not about service connection at all. The Veteran was granted service connection for post left knee arthroscopy meniscal repair, left knee arthroscopic surgical scar, and a left knee strain in November 2021.

The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, finding that the Veteran's current diagnoses of depression and anxiety are less likely related to his active service.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional evidence to corroborate the Veteran's claimed stressor related to his PTSD diagnosis.

The Board denied service connection for anxiety and depression (now claimed as PTSD), right wrist disability, left wrist disability, left shoulder rotator cuff tendonitis with glenohumeral and acromioclavicular joint osteoarthritis, and degenerative arthritis and disc disease of the lumbar spine.

The Veteran's GERD is rated at 10 percent, which does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.,The Veteran's MDD and unspecified anxiety disorder are currently rated at 50 percent, which does not warrant an increase to a higher rating.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability, diagnosed as unspecified anxiety disorder and depressive disorder, is granted. The Board finds that the evidence shows a reasonable doubt in favor of service connection.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for depressive disorder, PTSD, generalized anxiety disorder, and OCD has been reopened. The case is remanded to obtain a VA examination and opinion regarding the nature and etiology of any diagnosed psychiatric disabilities.

The Veteran's service-connected adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood accounts for all his psychiatric symptoms, including those originally identified in the 2016 examination. The Board denies this claim as it fails to meet the primary criterion of service connection.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including a depressive disorder, an anxiety disorder and an adjustment disorder due to new evidence submitted during the appeal.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for left and right wrist disorders, as well as his acquired psychiatric disorder due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology. Additional examinations are needed to address these issues.

The Board has remanded the claims for right ankle, left knee, and acquired psychiatric disabilities due to a lack of a VA examination.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions and unavailable service treatment records. The Veteran's cold injury residuals and lumbar spine disability are being examined by a Vascular Specialist and an Orthopedic Specialist, respectively, while his acquired psychiatric disorder claim is being reviewed by a Psychiatrist or Psychologist.