The Veteran's PTSD with depressive disorder NOS is rated at 50 percent, but no higher. The Board has also remanded several other issues including service connection for sensorineural hearing loss in both ears, tinnitus, and erectile dysfunction.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the Veteran’s symptoms most closely approximated occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity, warranting a 50 percent rating under Diagnostic Code 9411.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Depressive Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (NOS), Sensorineural Hearing Loss in the Right Ear, Sensorineural Hearing Loss in the Left Ear, Tinnitus, Hypertensive Heart Disease, Erectile Dysfunction
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 18, 2018
- Citation
- 18143164
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 18143164.
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 an initial disability rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD, finding the appellant's symptoms did not more closely approximate occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD due to an inadequate medical opinion.
- Granted
The Board granted a disability rating of 70 percent for PTSD and a total disability rating due to individual unemployability (TDIU) based on the Veteran's service-connected disabilities.
- Partly granted
The Board denied a compensable rating for erectile dysfunction and a higher rating for left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy with muscle weakness, but granted an earlier effective date for the 60 percent disability rating for thrombosis, TIA or cerebral infarction with impairment of sphincter control and voiding dysfunction, and for service connection for pharynx and/or larynx and/or swallowing conditions residuals.
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