The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a psychiatric disorder as secondary to his service-connected bilateral hearing loss disability, finding that there is no evidence of a nexus between the two conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined that the Veteran’s current psychiatric disorder was less likely than not related to his service-connected bilateral hearing loss disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Psychiatric disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 21, 2020
- Citation
- A20015814
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.
- Partly granted
The Board grants the appeal for readjudicating the claim of service connection for a psychiatric disorder due to new and relevant evidence being received.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 70 percent initial evaluation for the Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disorder and TDIU, but remanded claims for service connection for diabetes, lumbar condition, cervical condition, lung condition, and left and right lower extremity neuropathy.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an initial disability rating of 50 percent for the Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disorder and a TDIU from September 1, 2023, but denied service connection for erectile dysfunction.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the Veteran's claim for special monthly compensation based on the need for aid and attendance due to service-connected disabilities, as well as claims for service connection for a heart disability and psychiatric disorder.
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