Asthma decisions — 2019

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for an eye disability and asthma due to incomplete records and inadequate medical opinions. The Veteran is seeking service connection for his eye condition as secondary to diabetes mellitus, type II, and for his asthma as related to exposure to dust during active service or as secondary to allergic rhinitis.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's respiratory disabilities and their relationship to service, including any service-connected conditions.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for right knee condition, initial compensable rating for asthma, and non-service connected pension due to new evidence received since the last final denial. The Veteran's right knee condition is being examined again to determine if it is related to his military service or if it constitutes a functional impairment of earning capacity. His asthma severity is also being evaluated.

The Veteran's service connection claims for bilateral hearing loss and asthma/spastic airway disease are remanded due to the need for additional evidence, including treatment records and an audiologist opinion.

The Board has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's claims, including service connection for various conditions and ratings for certain disabilities. The specific issues include dental disorders, hearing loss, tinnitus, ear infections, sleep apnea, arm and elbow disorders, frostbite residuals, low back disorder, sciatic nerve disorder, psychiatric disorders, pes planus, gout in the lower extremities, bronchial asthma, and allergic rhinitis.

The Board has remanded the claim for service connection for a respiratory disability, including as secondary to herbicide exposure (Agent Orange), due to the need for an examination and opinion regarding the relationship between current diagnoses of COPD and asthma and in-service exposures.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for rosacea, asthma, enlarged prostate, chronic lower back pain, and major depressive disorder as secondary to service-connected acne have been granted. The claim for service connection for asthma has been denied.

The Veteran's hypertension was denied as it did not originate in service or until years after service, and is not otherwise etiologically related to service.,The Veteran's asthma was denied as it did not originate in service or until years after service, and is not otherwise etiologically related to service.

The Board found that the Veteran's current asthma is not related to his active service and denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for asthma, including as secondary to chemical exposure in service, is being remanded due to the need for a medical opinion.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to incomplete medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's sleep apnea is directly related to service and if it was caused or aggravated by his service-connected asthma.

The Veteran's asthma has been rated at 30 percent since December 1, 2004. The Board found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating as his FEV-1 and FEV-1/FVC values were within normal limits with no need for systemic corticosteroids or immune-suppressive medications.

The Veteran's appeal regarding an increased rating for asthma is being remanded due to the failure to express disagreement with the assigned rating.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for left lower extremity restless leg syndrome, right lower extremity restless leg syndrome, and respiratory disability, to include asthma. The Board found that there was no evidence linking these conditions to service.

The Board denied service connection for asthma and COPD, finding that the evidence did not show a link between these conditions and the Veteran's military service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for eye disabilities and a respiratory disability due to inadequate examinations. The AOJ is instructed to obtain new opinions under the equipoise standard regarding radiation and secondhand smoke exposure.

The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate development of records, specifically missing VA treatment records from April 2017 to present. The claims for service connection and increased rating will be reconsidered with these records.

The Board has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's claims, including whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen a claim for service connection for asthma, entitlement to service connection for malaria, entitlement to service connection for bilateral tinnitus, entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD and depression), entitlement to an initial compensable rating of bilateral hearing loss, and entitlement to a total rating based upon individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities. The remand is due to the failure to comply with the duty to assist in obtaining relevant records.

The Veteran's asthma was aggravated by service, and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's sleep apnea is not related to his service-connected asthma and rhinitis, but remanded for further examination and opinion.