The Veteran's claim for residuals of right ear surgery with chronic ear infection is denied as there is no evidence of a current disability related to service.,Service connection for an acquired psychiatric condition (claimed as PTSD, depression, anxiety, and chronic sleep impairment) is also denied. The VA examiner found the Veteran does not have any diagnosed mental disorder.,The skin condition claim due to herbicide exposure remains pending as further examination is needed.
The deciding factor: There was no evidence of a current disability related to service for the right ear surgery and chronic ear infection, and the Veteran's reported symptoms were attributed to post-service events.,The VA examiner found that the Veteran does not have any diagnosed mental disorder. The criteria for PTSD and other acquired psychiatric conditions were not met due to lack of historic or present symptoms.,Further examination is needed to determine if the current skin condition is related to herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of right ear surgery with chronic ear infection, acquired psychiatric condition (claimed as PTSD, depression, anxiety, chronic sleep impairment), skin condition
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 23, 2019
- Citation
- 19180786
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 claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to ensure a proper examination and etiology opinion are provided.
- Remanded (sent back)
The appeal is remanded for further development and consideration of the Veteran's claims for service connection for various acquired psychiatric disorders.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including back pain, knee and wrist joint pains, neck pain, anxiety, depression, as further development is needed to properly adjudicate these claims.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for generalized anxiety disorder and denied service connection for a lower back disorder. The claims for depression, substance abuse disorder, and a compensable initial rating for bilateral hearing loss were dismissed.
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