The Board has remanded the case for further examination and opinion regarding service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability, including unspecified anxiety disorder and unspecified depressive disorder. The claims for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus remain denied.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner's opinions were based on the absence of in-service noise exposure and lack of documented complaints or diagnoses related to these conditions in the Veteran's service treatment records (STRs).
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral hearing loss, Tinnitus, Unspecified anxiety disorder, Unspecified depressive disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 5, 2023
- Citation
- 23055116
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 23055116.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a low back disorder was reopened, and his claims for increased ratings of bilateral knee instability were granted. His hearing loss claim was denied.
- 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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for PTSD, insomnia/sleep disorder, and unspecified anxiety disorder (also claimed as anxiety, depression, and panic disorder) due to the Veteran's in-service stressful events.
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