Allergic rhinitis decisions — 2024

The Veteran's allergic rhinitis and sinusitis are found to be related to his service, specifically exposure to burn pits during the Gulf War. Service connection is granted.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's sleep apnea is secondary to her service-connected allergic rhinitis.

The Board has decided to remand the claims for chronic groin injury, right ankle pain, left ankle pain, psychiatric disability (adjustment disorder and depressive disorder), and allergic rhinitis due to inadequate examination and opinion regarding causality.

The Veteran's TDIU claim is remanded due to a duty to assist error involving private medical records and workers' compensation records. The AOJ must attempt to obtain these records before considering the merits of the claim.

Service connection for deviated septum, hemorrhoids, and tinnitus is denied. Service connection for bilateral shin scars, allergic rhinitis, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), left knee condition, right knee condition, and back injury is remanded.,The Veteran's claim for a rating greater than 10 percent for tinnitus must be denied as the maximum schedular rating has been assigned. The effective date of service connection for tinnitus cannot be earlier than March 31, 2020.

The Veteran's claim for a compensable initial rating for vasomotor rhinitis, non-allergic was denied as the evidence did not show that he had polyps or greater than 50 percent obstruction of the nasal passage on both sides.,Service connection for staph folliculitis and furuncle of the left groin, claimed as left groin condition and rash on groin, and tinea cruris of the left thigh, claimed as skin condition on upper left thigh, was denied because there is no evidence of a current disability other than service-connected tinea corporis affecting these areas.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for specially adapted housing or a special home adaptation grant as they do not result in loss of use of extremities, blindness in both eyes, full thickness or subdermal burns, or an inhalation injury.

The Board denied a 10 percent rating for service-connected allergic rhinitis and bilateral pes cavus, finding that the disabilities did not interfere with the Veteran's normal employability.

The Veteran has withdrawn her appeals for higher ratings in the cases of migraine headaches, sinusitis, allergic rhinitis, and bilateral hearing loss.

The Veteran's rhinitis, seizure disability (temporal lobe epilepsy), migraine headaches, alcohol use disorder, opioid use disorder, cannabis use disorder, chronic fatigue syndrome, obstructive sleep apnea, eczema, and muscle and joint pain of the lower back, bilateral hands, feet, knees, and hips are all granted presumptively based on service in Southwest Asia. The Veteran's PTSD is also granted with an initial rating of 70 percent from May 21, 2014 to February 27, 2020.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for sleep apnea and allergic rhinitis were denied. The Board found that the Veteran did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under the applicable diagnostic codes.

The Board dismissed the appeal for a higher rating of rhinitis as the appellant requested to withdraw the appeal.

The Veteran's allergic rhinitis was granted an increased rating to 10% effective from March 6, 2019.,Her initial claim for a higher rating for allergic rhinitis was denied. The Veteran's diabetes mellitus was granted an initial rating of 20%, and her request for a higher rating was also denied.

The Board has granted an effective date of July 1, 2012 for the Veteran's TDIU and DEA eligibility. The decision is based on the fact that the Veteran became unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation due to his service-connected disabilities starting from January 26, 2009.

The Veteran's mental health condition, including anxiety and headaches, is granted. The Veteran also receives a 30 percent disability rating for her transformed anxiety-tension headaches (claimed as migraine headaches) and sinusitis and non-allergic rhinitis since December 17, 2018.

The Veteran's appeal of service connection for allergic rhinitis is dismissed. The issue of service connection for plantar fasciitis is remanded.

The Veteran's service connection claims for chronic renal disease, cirrhosis of the liver with portal hypertension and hepatitis C, depression, flat feet, allergic rhinitis, and hypertension have been granted. The effective date is March 25, 2020, for all claims except for chronic renal disease, which has an effective date of March 25, 2020. A 60 percent rating is assigned for left lower extremity radiculopathy from January 30, 2020.

The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for the 40 percent ratings for left and right lower extremity sciatic radiculopathy, as well as the 30 percent ratings for right and left knee flexion limited to 9 degrees, have been remanded.,The effective date for the award of service connection for OSA is granted on April 2, 2019.

The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for chronic bronchitis, asthma, sinusitis, rhinitis, and GERD due to exposure to burn pits during service in Vietnam. The Veteran is seeking presumptive service connection for these conditions.

The Board has found that the Veteran's allergic rhinitis may have existed prior to her entry into active duty service and is requesting a VA examination to determine if it clearly and unmistakably did not exist before service.