Anxiety Board decisions

The Board has remanded the case for a new VA examination to determine whether the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders are related to his military service or any incident in service, and to address the Veteran's allegations of PTSD stemming from an assault.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate examination and need for a new opinion on the cause of the Veteran's psychiatric disability, including PTSD, anxiety disorder, and depression.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD has been dismissed, and the case is remanded for an increased rating of his psychiatric disability.

The Board has denied service connection for anxiety due to lack of evidence showing a current disability. The heart condition issue is remanded as the nature and etiology need further clarification.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for headaches was denied. The claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including major depressive disorder and anxiety disorder, was granted. Service connection for PTSD was denied. Other claims were remanded.

The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there was no evidence showing a causal relationship between any service-connected disability and the Veteran's death from congestive heart failure.

The Veteran's service-connected dysthymic disorder and anxiety disorder have been rated at the highest available rating of 50 percent, which is the maximum schedular rating for these conditions.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings are being remanded due to lack of compliance with previous Board directives. The issues include sleep apnea, an acquired psychiatric disorder (to include anxiety), COPD, and left intercostal muscle strain.

The Board has dismissed the claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus as they have been granted by a June 2020 rating decision. The issues of service connection for a stomach condition, to include GERD, and an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include adjustment disorder with anxiety, secondary to service-connected status-post inguinal hernia repairs are remanded.

The Board has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's claims for service connection, including cervical spine disability, right and left hip disabilities, left wrist and elbow disabilities, psychiatric disability, sleep disability, and gastrointestinal disability. The effective dates for service connection are also being remanded.

The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service connected. The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability and right and left foot disorders, back disorder, heart disorder, pseudofolliculitis barbae, and acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD, anxiety, and depression) are all remanded for further development.,The Veteran has not provided sufficient evidence to establish a current disability for VA purposes for bilateral hearing loss. The Board finds the examination adequate as there is no evidence of a current disability for VA purposes.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability, including anxiety and depression, finding that it is related to his active military service.

The Veteran's PTSD with anxiety disorder NOS, including chronic intermittent cough and muscle aches, is rated at 50 percent from September 13, 2016. The rating for the condition prior to that date remains noncompensable.

The Veteran's initial claim for an increased rating of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (previously diagnosed as Bipolar Disorder) was granted, with a 30 percent rating effective from November 16, 2014. A TDIU due to service-connected disabilities was also granted effective from February 21, 2017.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for headaches and an acquired psychiatric disorder. The case is being remanded for further development.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, major depressive disorder, and adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood is being remanded due to the need for a VA examination.

The Veteran's anxiety disorder is currently rated at 50 percent from February 23, 2020. Prior to that date, the disability was rated as 30 percent.

The Veteran's TDIU claim is dismissed because he is already receiving a 100% disability rating and SMC, so the TDIU would not provide any additional benefits.

The Board has dismissed all issues of service connection due to the Veteran's death.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that there was no evidence to support a link between his current conditions and his military service.