Anxiety Board decisions

The Board has remanded several issues related to the appellant's service connection claims due to a duty to assist error. The claims for bilateral flatfeet/fallen arches, chronic rhinitis/sinusitis, unspecified anxiety disorder, bilateral hearing loss disability, left knee disability, right knee disability, and right knee scar are all being reconsidered.

The Board has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's claims, including service connection for various conditions and a higher disability rating for chronic scalp folliculitis. The AOJ is instructed to obtain additional medical records and conduct further examinations as needed.

The Veteran's service-connected anxiety, insomnia and depression are currently rated at 30 percent. The Board denied an increased rating as the symptoms do not meet the criteria for a higher rating.

The Veteran's initial claim for anxiety disorder was granted and assigned a 30 percent rating effective December 18, 2019. The appeal is now remanded to determine if the Veteran warrants an increased rating.,Both issues of entitlement to higher ratings for degenerative arthritis, cervical spine and service connection for headaches secondary to this condition are also being remanded due to duty-to-assist errors.

The Veteran's vertigo and dizziness first manifested in November 2008, and the Board has granted an effective date of November 13, 2008 for service connection. The claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder to include MDD and anxiety was not raised prior to May 10, 2011.

The Veteran's appeal was dismissed because the Board Appeal request was not timely filed with respect to the November 19, 2021 rating decision denying service connection for various conditions.

The Veteran's sinusitis is granted as service connected.,The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability (including anxiety, depression, and PTSD with opioid and alcohol use disorders) is granted as service connected.,The Veteran's lumbosacral strain is denied as not service connected.

The Veteran's adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood is granted at a 70 percent rating prior to April 21, 2024, and a 100 percent rating as of that date.

The Board has granted service connection for unspecified anxiety disorder, finding that the current psychiatric diagnoses are directly incurred in service due to multiple stressors and self-medicating with alcohol use.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating in excess of 100 percent for service-connected Meniere's syndrome is denied. The appeal as to entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is dismissed due to concurrent SMC under 38 U.S.C. § 1114(s).

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss has been denied as there is no evidence of a current disability.,The issue of service connection for migraines was dismissed as moot due to the grant of service connection in an earlier decision.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including depressive disorder, unspecified trauma disorder, and unspecified anxiety disorder, are found to be related to his active service. The claims for sleep apnea and erectile dysfunction are remanded due to the need for additional development.

The Veteran's unspecified anxiety disorder is currently rated at 30 percent, but the Board finds that it does not warrant a higher rating due to occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks.,The Veteran's right wrist strain is currently rated at 10 percent. The Board found no evidence supporting an increase in this rating.

The Veteran's PTSD disability is currently rated at 70 percent, and the Board has determined that a higher rating of 100 percent is not warranted based on his symptoms.

Service connection was granted for unspecified anxiety disorder, left ear hearing loss, and tinnitus. A 30 percent rating was also granted for irritable bowel syndrome with chronic constipation from December 9, 2019.,The Veteran's claims were based on in-service acoustic trauma exposure.

The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to obtain an addendum medical opinion and to obtain any outstanding treatment records from Dr. Levi Kirkland.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim of service connection for diabetes mellitus, type 2 as secondary to his insomnia disorder with secondary adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood. The decision is based on a VA opinion that found it at least as likely as not that the Veteran's diabetes was related to or exacerbated by his insomnia disorder.

The December 2012 rating decision was reversed to grant service connection for an anxiety disorder, which had previously been denied due to a lack of evidence linking the condition to service. The new evidence provided by the VA psychologist in January 2012 established a link between the Veteran's military service and his current diagnosis of anxiety disorder.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, including Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, and Panic Disorder, was granted with an effective date of January 19, 2022. The decision is based on the continuity of symptoms from military service.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not prevent him from securing and following substantially gainful employment during the period under review.