The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude him from obtaining or maintaining substantially gainful employment consistent with his education and occupational background.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, alone, are not sufficiently severe to produce unemployability.
- Claimed conditions
- Anxiety disorder without agoraphobia, Adjustment Disorder with Depressed Mood, Bilateral Pterygiums, Left Ear Hearing Loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- November 13, 2009
- Citation
- 0943374
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 0943374.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for right ear hearing loss and a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, finding that there was no evidence to support these claims based on in-service noise exposure or other theories.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and Adjustment Disorder with Depressed Mood, is granted effective August 21, 2019. A rating of 70 percent for the acquired psychiatric disorder is granted.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for his psychiatric disability is granted, and he is now rated at 70 percent. He also received a TDIU based solely on his service-connected psychiatric disability, and SMC at the housebound rate is granted.
- Granted
The Veteran was granted a TDIU with a September 19, 2024 effective date based on his PTSD, emphysema, and COPD symptoms. His diabetes, tinnitus, and left ear hearing loss were not found to prevent him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation prior to March 19, 2024.
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