The Veteran's claim for service connection for tinnitus is denied as there is no evidence of a current disability and the Board finds that her symptoms are not related to military service.,Service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability is denied because the Veteran does not have a current disability. The Board notes that she did sustain acoustic trauma during active service, but this alone is not sufficient to establish service connection.,The Veteran's claim for PTSD due to MST is remanded as new evidence requires a review of her psychiatric symptoms under DSM-5 criteria.,Service connection for back disability is remanded as the VA examiner’s opinion was inadequate and did not consider the Veteran's lay statements regarding the onset and continuity of her back disability.,The Veteran's claim for sleep disorder, to include sleep apnea, is remanded as no sleep study has been performed to diagnose sleep apnea. The Board also notes that more information is needed about the status of her ovaries.,Service connection for sinusitis is denied as there is no evidence of a current disability and the VA examiner’s opinion was inadequate.,The Veteran's claim for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for major depressive disorder is remanded due to new information indicating worsening symptoms.,The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for salpingo-oophoritis with removal of right ovary is remanded as more information about the status of her ovaries is needed.

The deciding factor: Service connection requires evidence of current disability, and there is no evidence of tinnitus or bilateral hearing loss disability currently present.,The Veteran did not have a diagnosis of hearing loss for VA purposes at any time during active service. The Board notes that she sustained acoustic trauma but this alone does not establish service connection.,The Veteran's PTSD claim must be remanded as the DSM-IV criteria used in her October 2010 examination are no longer applicable due to amendments to VA regulations effective August 4, 2014. The examiner did not address whether she would qualify for a PTSD diagnosis under DSM-5.,The VA examiner’s opinion was inadequate as it did not consider the Veteran's lay statements regarding her back disability and relied solely on the absence of injuries or treatment in her STRs.,The Veteran's sleep disorder claim must be remanded as no sleep study has been performed to diagnose sleep apnea. The Board also notes that more information is needed about the status of her ovaries.,Service connection for sinusitis was denied because there is no evidence of a current disability and the VA examiner’s opinion was inadequate.,The Veteran's claim for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for major depressive disorder must be remanded as new information indicates worsening symptoms.,The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for salpingo-oophoritis with removal of right ovary must be remanded as more information about the status of her ovaries is needed.

Claimed conditions

tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss disability, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), back disability, sleep disorder, sinusitis, major depressive disorder, salpingo-oophoritis with removal of right ovary

How they argued it

Not specified

Exposure basis

None

Rating assigned

None in this decision

Decision date

August 30, 2018

Citation

18131028

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 18131028.