The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for alcoholism, psychosis, and a back disability. The decision also denied his claim for an increased evaluation for tinnitus and his request to reopen the claim for service connection for a back disability. For PTSD, the Board found that he met the criteria for a 70% rating prior to January 22, 2014 but did not meet the criteria for a higher rating since then.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's alcoholism was in full remission and thus not service-connected. The evidence did not show an active psychosis within two years of discharge. The tinnitus disability picture did not warrant a higher evaluation as it met the schedular criteria. The bilateral hearing loss disability also did not meet the schedular criteria for a compensable rating. For PTSD, the Board found that the Veteran's symptoms were most nearly approximated by occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas but did not result in total occupational and social impairment.
- Claimed conditions
- major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, alcoholism, psychosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 13, 2015
- Citation
- 1510673
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 1510673.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development regarding the Veteran's service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD, major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, insomnia and alcohol use disorder caused his sleep apnea.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for back pain and neck pain, finding no current disability. The claim for Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is remanded due to inadequate consideration of all potential exposures.,The claim for an acquired psychiatric disability (PTSD) is also remanded due to a lack of development of the Veteran's therapist's records.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew their appeals for the claims of service connection for insomnia disorder with generalized anxiety disorder, pes planus, calcaneonavicular coalition bilateral feet secondary to right ankle sprain, and pes planus, calcaneonavicular coalition bilateral feet secondary to left ankle pain.
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