The Board has decided the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric condition, but requires additional development to determine if his depression is related to active duty service or secondary to his service-connected bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner failed to provide a direct etiology opinion on whether the Veteran's depressive disorder was directly related to his active duty service.
- Claimed conditions
- depressive disorder NOS
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 14, 2014
- Citation
- 1450497
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 1450497.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the veteran's claimed psychiatric disorders because there was no evidence of a current disorder related to military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a lack of an adequate nexus opinion regarding the Veteran's service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder. A new examination is required to address whether any diagnosed condition is at least as likely as not incurred in or otherwise related to his active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining a VA examination and considering all relevant evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for an earlier effective date and rating increase for the Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disabilities due to outstanding treatment records, examination, and development of evidence.
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