The Veteran's claim for hypertension and an acquired psychiatric disorder to include unspecified depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, paranoid schizophrenia and insomnia has been reopened. The right ankle disability claim is being remanded.,Hypertension and the acquired psychiatric disorder claims are both reopened due to new evidence received since their last final denial. However, service connection cannot be established for these conditions as there is no evidence of a current disability.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's hearing loss and tinnitus were not found to meet VA criteria for hearing loss disability at any point during service or post-service, and the June 2014 VA examination report was considered more probative than the Veteran’s lay statements regarding his tinnitus onset.
- Claimed conditions
- Hypertension, Acquired Psychiatric Disorder to include unspecified depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, paranoid schizophrenia and insomnia, Right Ankle Degenerative Joint Disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 19, 2019
- Citation
- 19163863
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 19163863.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus type II and hypertension, to include as secondary to left orchiectomy, for further development in accordance with the PACT Act.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various disabilities and denied higher ratings for several service-connected conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including diabetes mellitus, type II, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, hypertension, asthma/lung disease, vision disability, bilateral plantar fasciitis, leukocytosis, kidney disease/kidney stones, enlarged prostate, sleep apnea, rheumatoid arthritis, lumbar spine disability, right ankle disability, and left ankle disability.
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