The Veteran's mood disorder is granted as secondary to service-connected disabilities, but his sleep disorder and hearing loss are not separately service connected. The lower back disability remains at a 20 percent rating, while the hypertension continues at its current 10 percent rating.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran’s mood disorder was caused by chronic pain from his service-connected disabilities, warranting service connection on a secondary basis. However, there is no separate diagnosis for sleep and hearing loss issues, nor did the evidence support an increase in ratings for these conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- mood disorder, sleep disorder, hearing loss, lower back disability (spondylolisthesis L5-S1), hypertension
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 20%
- Decision date
- September 3, 2019
- Citation
- A19001064
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 A19001064.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to conflicting opinions regarding service connection for peripheral neuropathy, hypertension, and skin disabilities related to herbicide exposure.
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