The Veteran's depressive disorder with anxiety is found to have begun in service and continues today.,The Veteran's migraines are found to be caused, at least in part, by his now service-connected depressive disorder with anxiety.,The Veteran's tinnitus is found to be related to his now service-connected migraines.,Service connection for traumatic brain injury, bilateral hearing loss, and hypertension is remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions.,Service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder other than depressive disorder with anxiety (such as bipolar disorder) is also remanded.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's lay and medical evidence supports a finding that his depressive disorder with anxiety began in service and has continued to the present. The private examiner provided a strong opinion supporting this conclusion.,The private examiner opined that the Veteran’s migraines are caused, at least in part, by his now service-connected depressive disorder with anxiety. There is no contrary medical evidence presented.,The October 2018 private examiner attributed the Veteran's tinnitus to his now service-connected migraines. The opinion was based on a thorough review of the Veteran’s medical history and provided strong support for this finding.,For traumatic brain injury, hypertension, and an acquired psychiatric disorder other than depressive disorder with anxiety (such as bipolar disorder), additional VA medical opinions are needed due to conflicting evidence in the record and the need to consider all relevant factors including service records and current treatment. The Veteran's lay statements also support these claims.,Service connection for traumatic brain injury, bilateral hearing loss, and hypertension is remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions.
- Claimed conditions
- Depressive Disorder with Anxiety, Migraines, Tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 25, 2019
- Citation
- 19157667
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 19157667.
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.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a higher rating for PTSD and dismissed his appeals regarding increased ratings for tinnitus and a right hand disability due to lack of timely filing of Notice of Disagreement.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including GAD, MDD, bruxism, migraines/headaches, tinnitus, hip pain, iliotibial band syndrome, and leg stress fractures. The evidence does not support current diagnoses of these conditions during the appeal period.
- Granted
The Veteran's initial evaluation for tension headaches to include migraines is granted, with a rating of 50 percent effective from May 23, 2023.
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