The Board granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include major depressive disorder and PTSD, finding that the Veteran's psychiatric disability is secondary to his service-connected tinnitus.
The deciding factor: The March 2022 VA examiner opined that the Veteran's depressive disorder was due to his service-connected tinnitus, and there is no contrary evidence of record.
- Claimed conditions
- Depressive disorder, Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- June 17, 2025
- Citation
- A25053058
Veterans Law Judge
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A25053058.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted special monthly compensation (SMC) at the (o) rate and SMC at the (r)(2) rate, effective January 19, 2025. The decision finds that the Veteran's service-connected conditions warrant these awards due to his need for aid and attendance.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has identified a contradiction in the AOJ's determinations regarding the Veteran's need for aid and assistance, which requires clarification. The remanded issues are entitlement to SMC based on the need for regular aid and attendance of another and on the basis of statutory housebound status.
- Denied
The Veteran is found not competent to handle the disbursement of VA funds, and his appeal is denied.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for increased rating and earlier effective date for PTSD have been dismissed due to her withdrawal of the appeal.
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