Anxiety decisions — 2023

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete verification of the Veteran's exposure to Agent Orange during his service in Korea. The VA is required to verify this exposure and provide a new psychiatric examination to determine if any current psychiatric disability, including PTSD, depressive disorder, and anxiety disorder, are related to his service.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disabilities, specifically whether they are directly related to service or caused by his personality disorder. The VA examiner is asked to provide an addendum opinion considering all relevant evidence and lay statements.

The Board has dismissed all claims as the Veteran withdrew his appeals prior to a decision being made.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a sleep disorder is granted, as it is secondary to his service-connected tinnitus.,Service connection for bilateral hearing loss is granted based on evidence showing the Veteran experienced symptoms during service due to military noise exposure and these have persisted since then.,Service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder (including depression, generalized anxiety disorder, and claustrophobia) is remanded as the Board finds it necessary to determine if these conditions are related to the Veteran's military service.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including anxiety and PTSD, should be remanded due to the need for a new VA examination.

The Veteran's service-connected anxiety disorder, combined with other disabilities, has rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation. The Board granted TDIU and SMC housebound effective August 21, 2012.

The Veteran's service connection claim for dermatitis is granted. An initial rating of 50 percent for social anxiety disorder prior to October 1, 2020, is also granted.

The Board has dismissed all service connection claims due to the death of the appellant.

The Board has granted service connection for adjustment disorder with generalized anxiety disorder, finding that the Veteran's preexisting condition was aggravated by service. The decision is based on clear and unmistakable evidence showing the condition existed prior to service and was exacerbated during service.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU are remanded due to the need for additional development, including a new VA examination.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, but has remanded it due to insufficient evidence. The case is being returned to the AOJ for a new VA examination and addendum opinion.

The Veteran's combined disability rating is 100 percent from February 29, 2012. The RO denied entitlement to a TDIU prior to February 29, 2012, or based on a single service-connected disability.

The Veteran's anxiety disorder was granted an initial rating of 50 percent prior to December 29, 2020.,From December 29, 2020, the Veteran is entitled to a disability rating of 70 percent for his anxiety disorder.

The Veteran's obsessive-compulsive disorder resulted in occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood. However, the Board found that his symptoms did not more closely approximate total occupational and social impairment for the period prior to July 10, 2018.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to incomplete records and the need for updated VA examinations. The issues of increased evaluations for various service-connected disabilities are being returned to the AOJ for further review.

The Board has granted an earlier effective date of July 1, 1999 for the grant of service connection for anxiety disorder NOS. The appeal regarding diabetes mellitus type II is dismissed.

The Veteran's service connection for unspecified anxiety and depressive disorder, as well as coronary artery disease, is granted with effective dates of May 6, 2015, and February 2, 2017 respectively. However, a compensable rating for scars associated with coronary artery disease remains denied.

The Veteran's service-connected acquired psychiatric disability, alone, warranted entitlement to a TDIU since August 17, 2017. The evidence demonstrated severe mental impairments that precluded the Veteran from securing and following all forms of substantially gainful employment.

The appeal for service connection of an acquired psychiatric disorder, including posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and/or major depressive disorder is dismissed due to the Veteran's death.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including a low back condition, bilateral knee and foot conditions, left ear hearing loss, an eye condition (dry eye syndrome), a skin condition (psoriasis), a thyroid condition, an acquired psychiatric disorder, a left parapharyngeal space mass, a salivary gland disorder, and bilateral tenosynovitis of the wrists.,The Veteran's claims for service connection are currently pending due to remand orders.