Anxiety Board decisions

The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including anxiety, major depression, and bipolar disorder, which are found to be aggravated by the Veteran's service-connected tinnitus. The claim for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is denied. The issue of service connection for hypertension is being remanded.

The Board has granted a 70 percent disability rating for anxiety disorder NOS with insomnia, effective from June 15, 2005. The Veteran's TDIU claim is also granted.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's DJD of the lumbar spine is related to his service-connected disabilities, and he is granted service connection for this condition. The claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder was not addressed due to a lack of adjudication on chronic pain syndrome.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional evidence and a new VA examination. The issues include service connection for various conditions, with no specific theory of service connection provided.

The Veteran's appeal has been withdrawn by his representative prior to the Board issuing a decision.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining updated treatment records and verifying any claimed military stressors. The Veteran will be scheduled for a VA examination to determine if his acquired psychiatric disabilities are related to service.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from securing or following substantially gainful employment consistent with his education and background. The Board finds that the criteria for entitlement to TDIU are not met.

The Veteran's death was caused by suicide, which is believed to have been due to his service-connected prostatitis aggravating his depression and anxiety.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, depression, and anxiety, is related to his service. The right hip disability was also found to be related to his service. However, there is no evidence of a current left hip disability.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for further development, including verification of claimed in-service stressors and a VA psychiatric examination to determine if any diagnosed psychiatric disorder is related to his active duty service.

The Veteran's anxiety disorder associated with tinnitus is rated at 50 percent for the period May 13, 2015 forward. The Board denied a higher rating and also found that he did not meet criteria for TDIU.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including psychotic disorder, depression NOS and anxiety NOS, is found to be proximately due to his service-connected PTSD. Therefore, the claim for secondary service connection is granted.

The Board found that the Veteran's chronic self-catheterization from December 2007 until January 2012, resulting from VA treatment for voiding obstruction, caused additional disability including cystitis, renal insufficiency, depression and anxiety. The failure to timely diagnose and treat a large bladder diverticulum as the source of his voiding obstruction was found to be in breach of the standard of care.

The Board found that the Veteran does not have a current diagnosis of an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and anxiety disorder. The VA examiner's opinion was considered more probative than the private treatment records' diagnoses due to lack of specific Criterion A stressor for PTSD and insufficient evidence linking symptoms to military service or tinnitus.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including VA examinations to address his claims for service connection for PTSD and anxiety disorder, as well as tremors potentially related to Agent Orange exposure.

The Veteran's claim of service connection for a psychiatric disorder was reopened and granted. Service connection was also granted for Parkinson's disease, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), anxiety disorder, and depressive disorder.,Service connection for Parkinson's disease was denied.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for an anxiety disorder (other than PTSD) and depression. The new evidence received since the last final denial shows a VA clinician noted in March 2017 that the Veteran had anxiety most of his life, that he reported anxiety about his own death after some friends passed away, and a generalized anxiety disorder was diagnosed.

The Veteran's appeal involves multiple conditions and issues, including service connection for various disorders. The Board has remanded the case due to scheduling issues.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining mental health treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to address whether the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disabilities are related to his military service.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric condition, including PTSD and an adjustment disorder with anxiety, resulted in occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks. However, there was no evidence of reduced reliability and productivity or deficiencies in most areas.