BVA Case 22059105: PTSD
BVAReal Board of Veterans' Appeals decision · October 20, 2022 · Bethany L. Buck
Conditions Claimed
PTSDDepressionPsychiatricHearing LossTinnitusHipTDIUErectile DysfunctionHypertension
Official 2026 VA monthly compensation, including the 2.8% COLA increase.
Dependent add-ons start at a 30% rating. Child-only and dependent-parent rates: see the full 2026 pay chart.
2026 base rates, all ratings (veteran alone)
| Rating | Monthly (2026, incl. 2.8% COLA) |
|---|---|
| 10% | $180.42 |
| 20% | $356.66 |
| 30% | $552.47 |
| 40% | $795.84 |
| 50% | $1,132.90 |
| 60% | $1,435.02 |
| 70% | $1,808.45 |
| 80% | $2,102.15 |
| 90% | $2,362.30 |
| 100% | $3,938.58 |
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Issues on Appeal
PTSDDepressionPsychiatricHearing LossTinnitusHipTDIUErectile Dysfunction
Why It Was Decided This Way
New and material evidence has not been submitted to reopen the claim of service connection for Bell's Palsy on the left side of face, and the appeal is denied.
New and material evidence has not been received to reopen to claim of entitlement to service connection for Bell's Palsy on the left side of face.
Rather than remanding the appeal for a medical opinion on whether there is a nexus between the claimed hypertension and the Veteran's exposure to herbicide agents, given that there is a sufficient basis to grant service connection for the claim at this time, the Board finds that service connection for hypertension on a direct basis is not warranted on this evidence.
While VA examiner rendered a negative nexus opinion, the examiner relied on the absence of documented tinnitus findings in the available service treatment records and did not address the Veteran's competent report as to the onset and continuity of tinnitus symptoms since his service.
New and Material Evidence Generally, in the legacy system of appeals (meaning the system in effect for decisions issued by a VA Regional Office prior to February 19, 2019), a claim that has been denied in an unappealed decision may not thereafter be reopened and allowed, unless new and material evidence is presented or secured.
Moreover, new and material evidence received prior to the expiration of the appeal period, or prior to the appellate decision if a timely appeal has been filed, will be considered as having been filed in connection with the claim that was pending at the beginning of the appeal period.
New and material evidence can be neither cumulative nor redundant of the evidence of record at the time of the last prior final denial of the claim sought to be reopened and must raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim.
159(c)(4), which "does not require new and material evidence as to each previously unproven element of a claim.
Authorities Cited
Regulations Cited (38 CFR / 38 USC)
Denial Type
Credibility|No Nexus|Not New Material|Duty To Assist
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