The Veteran's appeal is remanded for further examination and opinion regarding his Eustachian tube dysfunction. The initial rating claim for persistent depressive disorder with anxious distress remains denied.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not meet the criteria for a higher disability rating under any applicable diagnostic code, including due to lack of occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity.
- Claimed conditions
- persistent depressive disorder with anxious distress, Eustachian tube dysfunction (previously right ear otitis media with myringotomy)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19101913
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 170 · Granted: 18% (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 19101913.
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.
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The Veteran's claims for an initial evaluation in excess of 30 percent for persistent depressive disorder with anxious distress and service connection for ulcerative colitis are being remanded due to the failure to obtain relevant medical records.
- Granted
The Veteran's appeal is granted for an effective date of September 27, 2021, but the claim for a higher initial rating remains denied.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted a higher level of special monthly compensation (SMC) based on the need for regular aid and attendance at the rate provided by 38 U.S.C. 1114(r)(1), due to his service-connected stable angina, persistent depressive disorder with anxious distress, and Alzheimer's disease associated with diabetes mellitus type II.
- Granted
An effective date of October 11, 2023, and no earlier, for an increased 30 percent disability rating for service-connected migraine headaches is granted.,An effective date prior to October 11, 2023, for the award of service connection for persistent depressive disorder with anxious distress is denied.
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