GERD (acid reflux) decisions — 2015

The Veteran has withdrawn all issues on appeal, including service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder and Epstein Barr Virus.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions have been granted. Dental treatment is also provided.

The Board dismissed the appeal due to the death of the appellant.

The Veteran's active duty service was less than 90 days during the Persian Gulf War era, and he did not meet eligibility requirements for VA home loan benefits based on his Selected Reserve service due to a discharge for failing medical fitness standards.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for a stomach disability, including GERD, and for a left eye disability. The decision found that there was no evidence to support a link between the current disabilities and military service.

The Board has determined that GERD was incurred in service and granted the Veteran's claim for service connection.

The Veteran has withdrawn all his pending appeals, including those related to cervical spine disorder, liver disorder (including fatty liver), GERD, skin disorder, left knee disorder, gallbladder disorder (including gallstones), erectile dysfunction, IBS, and bilateral sensorineural hearing loss.

The Veteran's service connection claims for GERD and a concussion with headaches have been granted.

The Veteran's irritable bowel syndrome, vascular headaches, stress and nervous condition (psychiatric disorder), and gastroesophageal reflux disease are all granted service connection on a presumptive basis due to exposure in the Persian Gulf War.

The Board has reopened the claims for service connection for a psychiatric disability and right ankle disability, finding new and material evidence. The claims are now pending on their merits.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to obtain medical records and to provide the Veteran with a comprehensive VA psychiatric examination. The issues of service connection for PTSD, GERD, and IBS are being remanded.

The Board has ordered additional development to address the Veteran's claims for service connection for IBS and GERD, including consideration of her entire medical history and any potential common disease mechanism between these conditions.

The Veteran's stomach disorder, diagnosed as GERD, is found to be related to his service-connected disabilities and the Board grants service connection on a secondary basis.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unemployable from performing all forms of substantially gainful employment that are consistent with his education and occupational experience.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for low back disability, GERD, and psychiatric disability other than one manifested by substance abuse due to lack of new and material evidence.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for additional development due to procedural and evidentiary issues.

The Veteran's GERD was manifested by persistently recurrent epigastric distress, with pyrosis, regurgitation and substernal pain; vomiting, material weight loss, hematemesis, anemia or considerable or severe impairment of health has not been shown. Since the initial grant of service connection, December 18, 2007 to October 4, 2012, the criteria for a rating to 20 percent for service-connected GERD have been met.

The Veteran's GERD with hiatal hernia was granted service connection and assigned a noncompensable rating effective March 1, 2006. In March 2010, the Veteran requested an increased rating for GERD, claiming it had gotten worse.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's sleep apnea, heartburn, fractured right metacarpal, and scarring of the face and neck are all related to his active service. The initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is denied.

The Veteran's claims for service connection have been reopened, but the Board has not decided whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen each individual claim. The initial rating for depressive disorder remains denied.