The Board denied service connection for a psychiatric disorder, finding that the Veteran's current depressive disorder is not related to his military service and was not caused or aggravated by his service-connected hearing loss or tinnitus.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of evidence indicates that the Veteran's depressive disorder did not manifest in service, is unrelated to service, and was not caused or aggravated by his service connected left ear hearing loss disability or tinnitus.
- Claimed conditions
- Depressive Disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19184862
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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The Board granted an initial increased rating of 50 percent for the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability from March 8, 2010, to May 19, 2014, and denied a higher rating thereafter.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder of generalized anxiety disorder and depressive disorder, as secondary to the service-connected left ankle disability. Service connection was also granted for pseudofolliculitis barbae, and a 20 percent rating was assigned for left ankle achilles tendonitis from October 23, 2023.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, to include GAD and depressive disorder, as well as a cervical spine disability, right wrist pain, and left wrist pain. However, the claims for lumbar spine pain were denied.
- Denied
The Board denied a disability rating in excess of 50 percent and 70 percent for an acquired psychiatric disability, including PTSD, depressive disorder, trauma and stressor related disorder, personality disorder, alcohol use disorder, and cannabis use disorder.
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