The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim due to a duty to assist error, and will consider any additional evidence submitted when the claim is readjudicated.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner needs to assess whether the Veteran's psychiatric disorders are caused or aggravated by his service-connected bilateral hearing loss disability.
- Claimed conditions
- bipolar disorder, unspecified depressive disorder
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 2, 2026
- Citation
- A26009451
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 A26009451.
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 has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including bipolar disorder and PTSD. The Veteran will be asked to provide additional medical records and undergo a VA examination.
- Granted
The Veteran's anxiety and depressive disorders were rated at a 70 percent disability rating effective May 6, 2015.,Effective May 6, 2015, the Veteran was granted an earlier effective date for DEA benefits.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's current unspecified depressive disorder is related to his service-connected disabilities, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected unspecified depressive disorder with insomnia disorder is rated at 30 percent, and the Board has determined that this rating is not sufficient to reflect his disability picture.
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