The Veteran's service-connected depressive disorder and left ear hearing loss do not prevent him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not show that the Veteran is unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation due to his service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Depressive disorder, Left ear hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- January 22, 2018
- Citation
- 1804396
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 1804396.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the Veteran's claims for additional VA examinations to properly evaluate the current severity of her disabilities.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for depressive disorder as secondary to hypertension and tinnitus, but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and an increased rating for hypertension.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent rating for the Veteran's left knee strain, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and service connection for a right ankle disorder. Other claims were denied or remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board denied an increased rating for PTSD and remanded the issues of a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss and entitlement to TDIU.
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