The Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD, and tinnitus have all been denied. The Board found no credible evidence to support the claimed in-service stressors for PTSD, and there is insufficient medical evidence linking any diagnosed psychiatric disorders to service.
The deciding factor: There was no verified in-service stressor for PTSD, and the Veteran's reported symptoms did not meet criteria for a diagnosis of PTSD based on DSM-5 standards. The acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD was found to be unrelated to service due to lack of contemporaneous medical evidence and the absence of any link between current symptoms and service.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Acquired Psychiatric Disorder other than PTSD, Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 5, 2019
- Citation
- A19003365
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,432 · Granted: 29% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A19003365.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is granted as the evidence shows a current diagnosis of PTSD, an in-service stressor, and a medical link between the two.
- Denied
The Veteran's PTSD has been rated at 50% since March 23, 2004. The Board found that a higher rating is not warranted prior to February 15, 2005 due to the severity of his symptoms and their impact on his social and occupational functioning.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and any acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that there was no evidence to support a link between his current mental health conditions and his military service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.
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