Asthma decisions — 2006

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for asthma, necrobiosis lipoidica diabeticorum, and chronic fatigue syndrome due to herbicide exposure. The reasons given were that there was no evidence linking these conditions to his military service or to Agent Orange exposure.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for asthma and allergic rhinitis, finding that these conditions existed prior to service and were aggravated by service. The veteran is already in receipt of compensation for chronic bronchitis.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining the veteran's periods of active duty for training and inactive duty for training during her Air National Guard service, as well as obtaining medical records from Social Security Administration.

The case is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining SSA decision and evidence, scheduling a VA examination to assess employment limitations due to service-connected disabilities, and ensuring the claims file contains all relevant information.

The Board denied service connection for a bilateral knee disability and the evaluations of asthma, migraine and tension headaches, and Raynaud's phenomenon with cold induced urticaria. The veteran was found not to have current chronic diseases or disabilities associated with these conditions.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has not been submitted to reopen the veteran's claim of service connection for asthma, thus denying her request.

The Board has determined that there is no evidence of a chronic low back disability or asthma in service, and the medical evidence does not support a nexus between any current disabilities and military service. The claims for service connection are therefore denied.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for asthma, ankle disorder, elbow disorder, knee disorder, and hip disorder. The decision found that there was no evidence linking these conditions to service or undiagnosed illness.

The veteran's claim for increased ratings for asthma and HIV infection is denied. The RO has granted a 30 percent rating for HIV infection effective August 30, 2004.

The case is REMANDED for the following actions: (1) Request the veteran to report the entire period since his retirement from service during which he has received VA medical treatment and the location of that treatment, and also any other medical treatment he has received since military retirement for any of the conditions for which he seeks service connection. (2) Schedule the veteran for VA examination to document his current hearing acuity and for the examiner to provide an opinion of the time of onset of hearing impairment and whether it is less than, equal to, or greater than 50 percent probable that current hearing impairment results from acoustic trauma in service or any other incident of service. (3) If and only if additional medical records are obtained, consider whether the veteran is entitled to additional VA examinations as provided in 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)(4), and schedule any indicated examinations.

The veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of unauthorized private medical expenses incurred from October 7 to October 10, 2004 is denied because the claim was not filed within the required 90-day period after discharge.

The Board has determined that the veteran's respiratory conditions, including emphysema, asthma, and COPD, are not service-connected due to the provisions of 38 U.S.C.A. § 1103, which bars service connection for disabilities resulting from disease or injury attributable to tobacco use in service.

The Board has remanded the case due to additional evidence being requested and reviewed, as well as for obtaining treatment records from VAMCs.

The Board has determined that the veteran's sarcoidosis, bronchial asthma, and lymphadenopathy in the lung are not related to his military service. The claims for increased ratings for hypertension and neuritis have also been denied.

The Board denied service connection for sleep apnea as secondary to service-connected bronchial asthma and did not address the claim for an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for bronchial asthma.

The Board has reopened the claim of entitlement to service connection for asthma and remanded it for further development. The pseudofolliculitis barbae claim is denied as there is no current manifestation of the condition.

The VA has denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluations for his service-connected bronchial asthma and rhinosinusitis and pansinusitis, as the evidence does not support ratings higher than the current 30% and 10% respectively.

The Board has determined that the veteran's asthma is not due to a disease or injury incurred in service, and thus denied her claim for service connection.

The veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for bilateral plantar fasciitis is granted as of May 18, 2004. The right ankle condition and fibromyalgia claims are not addressed due to lack of service connection.

The veteran's claimed conditions of asthma, diabetes mellitus, and a visual disorder were not incurred or aggravated by service. The appeal is denied.