Acquired psychiatric disorder decisions — 2017

The Veteran's appeal has been withdrawn due to the Veteran's request for withdrawal prior to a decision being made.

The Veteran's appeal has been dismissed as the Veteran's attorney requested withdrawal of the appeal.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining private and VA treatment records, verifying in-service stressors, and providing the Veteran with a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of his acquired psychiatric disorder, hypertension, bilateral hearing loss disability, bilateral tinnitus, and back disability.

The Board found that the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability, including schizophrenia and mood disorder NOS, was not incurred in or aggravated by active service. The condition is presumed to have pre-existed service and was not aggravated during service.

The Board has ordered a remand due to the need for further verification of the appellant's service records and development of his claims, including VA examinations.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining an updated opinion from a VA psychologist regarding the nature and etiology of any acquired psychiatric disorder found, to include PTSD. The appellant will be provided with a supplemental statement of the case (SSOC) if the benefit sought is not granted.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for COPD, headaches, and an acquired psychiatric disability to include depression. The claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for chondromalacia of the right knee was also denied. The TDIU claim is addressed separately.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including a new VA examination to determine the current nature and severity of his PTSD. The TDIU claim may also be affected by this development.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, which includes schizophrenia and PTSD. The Veteran's current diagnoses are supported by medical evidence, and his reported stressors during service have been found credible. Therefore, service connection is granted.

The Board has determined that the Veteran did not have a current diagnosis of an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD. As such, service connection for this condition cannot be granted.

The Board found that the Veteran does not meet the diagnostic criteria for PTSD and did not have an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD during service or within one year of discharge. The claims were denied as there was no evidence to support these conditions.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a VA examination to determine the etiology of any current acquired psychiatric disorder and whether it is related to service or microwave radiation exposure.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD, was denied as he did not have a current diagnosis of such condition. The claims for increased ratings and TDIU were also addressed but are deferred until the examinations have been completed.

The Board is remanding the case for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and verifying the Veteran's in-service stressor.

The Veteran's claims for hypertension and an acquired psychiatric disability are being remanded due to the need for additional examinations to address the nature and likely cause of these conditions, as well as their relationship to his service-connected hearing loss, tinnitus, or medications prescribed for right ear vestibular disability.

The Veteran's psychiatric disability is found to be causally related to his service-connected neck disability, and he is granted service connection for a psychiatric disability. The issue of service connection for neuralgia (claimed as bilateral arm numbness) remains unresolved.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's exposure to acoustic trauma in service is related to his current condition. The claim of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability remains pending.

The Veteran's low back disability is rated at 20 percent since January 20, 2005. The Board found that the evidence did not meet criteria for a higher rating and denied claims for service connection for PTSD, depression NOS, anxiety disorder NOS, dysthymic disorder, prostate cancer, sleep apnea, or TDIU.

The Veteran's claim is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling a VA psychiatric examination.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims due to failure to obtain VA audiograms from January 2008 and December 2009, as well as other pertinent VA medical records. The case is also being remanded for further development of the tinnitus claim, psychiatric disorder claim, and hearing loss claim.