Citation Nr: 20004685 Decision Date: 01/21/20 Archive Date: 01/21/20 DOCKET NO. 18-48 954 DATE: January 21, 2020 REMANDED The claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is remanded. The claim for service connection for bilateral tinnitus is remanded. The claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizoaffective disorder, depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, and a psychotic disorder is remanded. The claim for service connection for a back disorder to include lumbar spondylosis and bulging disc is remanded. The claim for service connection for a bilateral foot disorder to include bilateral plantar pes planus and bilateral plantar fasciitis is remanded. The claim for service connection for a right inguinal hernia is remanded. The claim for service connection for diverticulitis is remanded. The claim for service connection for hemorrhoids is remanded. The claim for a total disability evaluation based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served in the U.S. Army on active service from February 1974 to August 1977. This appeal comes to the Board from a December 2014 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in St. Petersburg, Florida. The claims for service connection for PTSD, and for schizoaffective, depressive, anxiety, and psychotic disorders; and for bilateral plantar fasciitis have been recharacterized as claims for service connection for, respectively, an acquired psychiatric disorder and a bilateral foot condition to include the individual conditions identified by the Veteran and shown by the record. Clemons v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 1 (2009). REMAND The Veteran claims service connection for the above-named conditions, contending they are the result of active service and/or active duty for training or injury during inactive duty for training. The evidence of record shows competent lay evidence of diminished hearing and tinnitus; and medical evidence of an acquired psychiatric disorder to include schizoaffective and anxiety disorders, lumbar spondylosis and bulged disc, left foot plantar fasciitis, hernia, hemorrhoids and diverticulitis. The Veteran’s service records are incomplete and presumed missing, including of his initial active service from February 1974 to August 1977. Notwithstanding, service personnel records (SPRs) show that he served as an infantryman, a military occupational specialty (MOS) associated with acoustic exposure, the carrying of heavy equipment and long marches. Available STRs show the Veteran enlisted into the U.S. Army in 1974 without findings of any diseases, diagnoses or other abnormalities, but that he enlisted in the U.S. Army National Guard with a notation of genito-urinary abnormality and asymptomatic pes planus in 1993. He reported foot trouble in 1996, and was treated for a sprained ankle in the same year. In addition, he was treated for weakness and nausea, and was found to suffer from an unexplained generalized weakness during field duty that year. Concerning his back and psychiatric illnesses, he states that he fell during active service, injuring his back, and has presented clinical evidence of old trauma. In addition, he states that he was exposed to training films during his first period of active duty which prompted the nightmares and anxiety that VA and private treatment records show he continues to exhibit. The record contains literature establishing that such movies were routinely used and had the content described. Finally, the record contains evidence, including the Veteran’s lay testimony and private and VA medical statements, that tend to show relationships between his claimed disabilities and active service. As such, the Veteran has met the threshold requirements for VA examination under 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)(4) for his claimed conditions. McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79 (2006). In addition, the Veteran has been found disabled by the Social Security Administration (SSA) with a date of onset in 2013. As such records are Federal, and potentially relevant, they must be obtained. Golz v. Shinseki, 590 F.3d 1317 (Fed. Cir. 2010); 38 C.F.R. § 3.159. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Contact the SSA and take appropriate steps to obtain and associate with the claims file any decision and supporting evidence regarding the Veteran’s disability claim. 2. Schedule the Veteran for VA mental disorders examination assess any and all acquired psychiatric disorder(s); the claims folder must be reviewed in conjunction with the examination. The examiner must identify all diagnosed psychiatric pathology. For any identified psychiatric pathology, opine as to whether such is at least as likely as not caused or aggravated by service The VA examiner must comment on the Veteran’s exposure to training films as evidenced and described by the Combat Studies Institute bibliography of record, War on Film: Military History Education (Eiserman, 1949, 1987) and its impact on his mental health. 3. Schedule the Veteran for VA spine examination to assess any and all back disabilities; the claims folder must be reviewed in conjunction with the examination. The examiner must identify all currently diagnosed back pathology. For any identified back pathology, opine as to whether such is at least as likely as not caused or aggravated by service. The VA examiner must comment on the Veteran’s reported back injury during active service in the U.S. Army from 1974 to 1977, and the impact of his service as an infantryman on his back. 4. Schedule the Veteran for VA foot examination to assess any and all foot disabilities; the claims folder must be reviewed in conjunction with the examination. The examiner must identify all currently diagnosed foot pathology. For any identified foot pathology, opine as to whether such is at least as likely as not caused or aggravated by service. 6. Schedule the Veteran for VA gastrointestinal and colon and anus examinations to assess any and all hernia, diverticulitis, and hemorrhoid disabilities; the claims folder must be reviewed in conjunction with the examination. The examiner must identify all currently diagnosed hernia, diverticulitis, and hemorrhoid pathology. For any identified hernia, diverticulitis, and hemorrhoid pathology, opine as to whether such is at least as likely as not caused or aggravated by service. The VA examiner must comment on the notations on the Veteran’s 1993 entrance examination for U.S. Army National Guard of genito-urinary abnormality and the notations in these treatment records of generalized weakness during field training (active duty for training), and its impact on his claimed hernia, diverticulitis, and hemorrhoid conditions. 5. Then, readjudicate the claims. If any matter remains denied, issue an appropriate supplemental statement of the case and return the appeal to the Board for further consideration. WILLIAM H. DONNELLY Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board L.J. Bakke, Counsel The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential, and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.