Anxiety decisions — 2025

The Board remands the claims for service connection for generalized anxiety disorder and tendonitis in the right hand or fingers to correct a duty to assist error.

The Board denied service connection for insomnia disorder, depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, and plantar fasciitis as the evidence did not support a current diagnosis of these conditions.

The Board denied service connection for a psychiatric disability, to include PTSD and anxiety disorder, as well as a rating in excess of 40 percent for the Veteran's lumbar spine degenerative disc disease and strain.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for a total disability based on individual unemployability, special monthly compensation based on the need for regular aid and attendance, SMC based on housebound status, and service connection for vertigo.

The Board denied service connection for lower back sprain, heart disease, cervical spine disorder, inguinal hernia, work stress (high anxiety), basal cell carcinoma of the nose, glaucoma, high blood pressure, digestive disorder, and hearing loss as there was no evidence of a current disability or an in-service event, injury, or illness related to these conditions.

The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include OCD and GAD, based on the evidence supporting a nexus between the Veteran's symptoms during active duty and his current condition.

The Board remands the claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD and anxiety, for additional development, including a VA examination.

The Board remands the case for an adequate VA examination and to verify the Veteran's claimed stressors.

The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood.

The Board granted earlier effective dates for the award of a 30 percent rating for tension headaches, service connection for radiculopathy of the left and right upper extremities associated with cervical strain, and an initial 50 percent rating for adjustment disorder with anxiety and insomnia disorder, all effective from September 28, 2019.

The Board denied service connection for unexplained weight loss/weight gain and an initial compensable rating for folliculitis, but remanded the claims for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood.

The Board denied service connection for a psychiatric disability, including adjustment disorder, anxiety, and unspecified depressive disorder, finding no evidence linking these conditions to the Veteran's military service.

The Board granted service connection for tinnitus but denied it for bilateral hearing loss, chronic sinusitis, chronic fatigue syndrome, and chronic headaches. The initial ratings for generalized anxiety disorder with alcohol use disorder and allergic rhinitis were also denied.

The appeal for service connection for anxiety was withdrawn and dismissed, while tinnitus was granted. Bilateral hearing loss and a lumbar disorder were remanded.

The Board remands the matter to provide the Veteran with notice of his right to a pre-decisional hearing before the AOJ for any decision made by VA affecting the payment of benefits or granting of relief.

The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his cognitive impairment, which was part of his service-connected mental health disability, contributed to his fatal ingestion of battery fluid.

The Board granted an initial 70 percent rating for the service-connected adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood, effective from May 18, 2023.

The Board denied service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome, hemorrhoids, and a thoracic spine disorder. Service connection was granted for hypertension, and an initial rating of 30 percent was assigned for irritable bowel syndrome.

The Board granted a 50 percent rating for adjustment disorder, to include mixed anxiety with depressed mood and insomnia disorder, but denied a higher rating for lumbar anterior fusion. The claims for service connection for right knee strain and left knee meniscal tear were remanded.

The Board granted service connection for the Veteran's psychiatric disorders (PTSD, depression, anxiety) and granted an initial 30 percent disability rating for sinusitis. The claim for chronic fatigue syndrome was denied.