Traumatic brain injury (TBI) decisions — 2018

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for tinnitus and the issues of whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen previously denied claims of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss and bilateral leg numbness have been withdrawn.,PTSD is currently rated at 30 percent, which is the maximum rating available under Diagnostic Code 9411. The Veteran's PTSD results in occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas due to symptoms such as depressed mood, anxiety, panic attacks (weekly or less often), chronic sleep impairment, mild memory loss, flattened affect, circumstantial speech, difficulty understanding complex commands, impaired judgment, impaired abstract thinking, disturbances of motivation and mood, and difficulty establishing effective relationships.,The Veteran's service-connected residuals of gunshot wound to the right shoulder are currently rated at 30 percent under Diagnostic Code 5303.

The Board has remanded the appeal to the RO for additional action, including obtaining relevant personnel records from the Veteran's employer regarding his posttraumatic headaches and their impact on his employment.

The Veteran does not have current diagnosed TBI residuals or other service-connected conditions related to an in-service head injury. The Board finds that the evidence does not support a finding of service connection for these conditions.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient rationale in a previous VA examination and the need for an MRI. The Veteran's claim of service connection for residuals of traumatic brain injury is being returned for further development.

The Board found that the Veteran does not have current residuals from a TBI due to any incident of active service and denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran withdrew his appeals for service connection of traumatic brain injury, irritable bowel syndrome, and a respiratory disability (chronic pulmonary emphysema).

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current residuals of a traumatic brain injury are the result of inservice aggravation of a pre-existing head trauma, and thus service connection is granted.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development to assess the current severity of his service-connected disabilities and obtain any outstanding VA treatment records.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for prostate cancer, left arm disability, and restoration of his TBI rating. The Veteran's MDD and COPD ratings were also denied.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a VA TBI examination and an opinion regarding service connection for residuals of a traumatic brain injury (TBI).

The Board has determined that the Veteran's TBI had its onset in service and granted service connection. For his migraine headaches, the Board found very frequent prostrating attacks productive of severe economic inadaptability and granted a 50% rating.

The Veteran has withdrawn his appeal for an increased rating for residuals of TBI.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a traumatic brain injury is denied as there is no current diagnosis of such a condition.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a dental condition for compensation purposes was denied as the evidence did not demonstrate that he suffered from a compensable dental condition. The claim of entitlement to service connection for a TBI is addressed in the REMAND portion.