Acquired psychiatric disorder decisions — 2022

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, Mood Disorder, and Major Depressive Disorder, have been remanded due to the need for additional development of evidence.

The Veteran's right wrist disorder is not service-connected due to lack of evidence showing a link between the condition and his military service.,Service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder remains on appeal as there are conflicting opinions regarding its onset in service.,The Veteran's bilateral knee disorder has been remanded for further examination and evaluation.,Service connection for a headache disorder is granted based on current medical evidence.,Tinnitus was granted service connection, effective October 13, 2016.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection of an acquired psychiatric disorder, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The case is remanded to obtain a medical opinion on whether these conditions are related to service or aggravated by a pre-existing condition.

The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeals for hypertension and sleep apnea. The claim of service connection for tinnitus was granted, with a rating of 20 percent effective December 12, 2011. The issue of an initial rating greater than 20 percent for degenerative disc disease, lumbar spine, remains pending.

The Board has ordered a new examination to assess the severity of the Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disability and to determine if it meets the DSM-5 criteria for PTSD. The remand is due to the lack of discussion on PTSD criteria in the previous VA examination.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for prothrombin gene mutation with secondary hypercoagulability was dismissed due to the Veteran requesting withdrawal of the appeal. The appeals for service connection for headaches, acquired psychiatric disorder (claimed as anxiety and depression), status post deep vein thrombosis with pulmonary embolus (stroke), and seizure disorder are remanded.

The Board has denied service connection for frostbite of the hands and feet, but has remanded issues related to an acquired psychiatric disorder, hypertension, sleep apnea, erectile dysfunction, and GERD. The Veteran is required to provide additional evidence or undergo examinations regarding these claims.

The Board has remanded the claims for cardiovascular condition, hypertension, respiratory condition (chronic bronchitis and breathing problems), and acquired psychiatric condition (depression) due to new evidence submitted by the Veteran. The claims are being remanded because there is insufficient competent medical evidence on file to make a decision.

The Board has granted service connection for fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, but has remanded the Veteran's claims for headache disability, hypertension, Meniere's syndrome, and acquired psychiatric disability due to lack of supporting evidence in the record.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed for the Veteran's right ankle disability and acquired psychiatric disorder claims, as well as his TDIU claim. The VA will obtain treatment records, schedule a VA examination to assess the severity of the right ankle disability, attempt to verify the Veteran's stressor related to Guantanamo Bay service, and provide an examination for his acquired psychiatric disorders.

The Board denied service connection for a cerebrovascular accident (stroke) and an acquired psychiatric disability, to include PTSD, finding that the Veteran did not have evidence of these conditions in service or due to exposure to herbicides. The claims were based on direct service connection rather than presumptive exposure.

The Veteran's service connection claims for various conditions, including hearing loss, tinnitus, back disability, and multiple orthopedic issues, were denied as there was insufficient evidence to establish a link between these conditions and his military service.

The Board has remanded several claims, including service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, COPD, sleep apnea, a heart condition, and retinal artery occlusion of the right eye. The remand requires additional medical opinions to address whether these conditions are related to in-service brain injuries or other service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric condition to include PTSD with depression and cognitive residuals of TBI has been granted a rating of 70 percent, but no higher, throughout the entire appeal period.

The Board has remanded the case due to failure to comply with a previous remand directive regarding the psychiatric claim. The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including persistent depressive disorder, is being reviewed again for service connection.

The Veteran's appeals for Traumatic Brain Injury and TDIU were dismissed due to the Veteran requesting to withdraw his appeal.,The remaining issues of service connection for various disabilities, including a right knee disability, low back disability, gastric disorder, neck disability, and right upper extremity radiculopathy are remanded for further development.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to address the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disability, sciatica as secondary to a low back disability, and an acquired psychiatric disorder. The issues are being remanded.

The Board has determined that the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether the Veteran's diagnosed acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD, is due to his military service. Therefore, service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include PTSD, is granted.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including depression, finding that there is no causal relationship between his current mental health condition and his military service.

The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service-connected.,Additional records are needed to determine the nature and etiology of bilateral hearing loss, back condition, sciatica condition, left hip condition, and acquired psychiatric condition (anxiety and depression).,VA examinations are required for a comprehensive evaluation of the Veteran's claims.