Depression Board decisions

The veteran's chronic depression and anxiety disorder were incurred in service, and the Board grants service connection for these conditions.

The veteran's claim for service connection for a psychiatric disorder, to include depression, PTSD, schizoaffective disorder, and panic disorder with agoraphobia, is being remanded for additional development.

The veteran's claims for service connection for transient confusion, heat exhaustion, mild skin disorder, PTSD, and depressive disorder were granted. However, a compensable rating for residuals of a broken nose was denied.

The Board denied service connection for PTSD as there was no diagnosis of the condition, and denied service connection for major depression due to a lack of evidence linking it to service.

The veteran's claims for increased disability ratings were remanded to the RO for additional development.

The veteran's claims for earlier effective dates and a higher initial rating for depression were denied as the evidence did not support an earlier date of entitlement or a higher disability rating.

The veteran's eczematoid dermatitis did not warrant a compensable rating from February 25, 2004, to December 15, 2005, and the veteran was assigned a 10 percent rating for his chronic eczematoid dermatitis since December 16, 2005.

The veteran's left ear hearing loss disability was determined to be related to an injury from a mine explosion in service, while other conditions were denied service connection.

The appeal is remanded to the RO for further development and adjudication of the issues on appeal.

The veteran withdrew his appeals for service connection for anxiety disorder and depressive disorder. The remaining claims were denied as there is no evidence of a causal link between the claimed conditions and service, or that they are due to an undiagnosed illness.

The appeal is remanded to the RO for further development and consideration of the veteran's claims.

The Board denied service connection for a right arm disability, bursitis, and residuals of a head injury as there is no evidence of current disabilities. The claim for depression was also denied due to lack of evidence linking it to service.

The Board granted service connection for chronic tinnitus, finding that it was likely related to the veteran's wartime noise exposure.

The Board denied service connection for both PTSD and an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD, finding no evidence of in-service stressors or a link to the veteran's military service.

The Board denied service connection for hepatitis C and a psychiatric disability, claimed as depression, finding that the evidence did not support a link between these conditions and the veteran's military service.

The veteran's claim for service connection for a psychiatric disorder, to include as secondary to a service-connected seizure disorder, is being remanded for further development.

The Board finds that the effective date of January 9, 2004 assigned for a 30 percent disability rating for the veteran's major depression with anxiety is correct; and an earlier effective date is not warranted.

The Board remands the case for additional development, including a VA examination to determine if the veteran's psychiatric disorders are caused by or aggravated by his service-connected skin conditions.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from securing and following substantially gainful employment.

The veteran is not entitled to service connection for a mental disorder, but he is entitled to an earlier effective date of August 23, 1990, for the grant of service connection for a left middle finger scar.