The Board has ordered a remand to address the claim for service connection for a psychiatric disability, specifically whether it is as likely as not that the current psychiatric disorder was caused by or made worse by service-connected tinnitus.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not provide an opinion on secondary service connection and another examination is needed.
- Claimed conditions
- psychiatric disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 25, 2006
- Citation
- 0630220
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 734 · Granted: 9% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0630220.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for increased evaluations and SMC based on housebound status and aid and attendance, with the initial decisions being in February and June 2023. The appellant is eligible to attorney fees based on past-due benefits awarded in September 2024.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal for service connection of psychiatric disorder. Service connection was granted for heart condition, throat condition, and hypertension due to herbicide exposure in Japan. Diabetes condition is denied as there is no evidence of treatment or diagnosis.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities were considered permanent and total in nature as of August 6, 2020, which is the earliest date on which she can establish basic eligibility for DEA under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 35.
- Granted
The Veteran's tinnitus is granted service connection, while his bilateral hearing loss and hypertensive vascular disease/hypertension are denied. The psychiatric disorder claim is remanded for further review.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.