GERD (acid reflux) decisions — 2024

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for hypertension, joint pain of the bilateral lower extremities (including RLS), and stomach disability (GERD) due to insufficient consideration of relevant medical history and exposure data.

The Board has determined that there is not substantial compliance with the remand requests and has therefore remanded the case for further development, including a VA examination to determine the etiology of any gastrointestinal disability, to include GERD.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for esophageal disorder, to include GERD, finding that there is not an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for vocal cord disorder, upper digestive disorder, right shoulder disorder, thoracolumbar spine disorder, and knee disorders. The evidence does not support a finding that these conditions are related to service or any service-connected disability.

The Board has remanded the cases of service connection for migraine headaches and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) due to inadequate consideration of the Veteran's in-service head injury and potential toxic exposure, as well as insufficient opinions regarding secondary service connection.

The Board has granted service connection for bladder cancer and left knee pain, but denied service connection for GERD, acne, right knee pain, erectile dysfunction, and sinus disability. The TDIU claim was dismissed.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, when taken together, prevent him from securing or following a 'substantially gainful' occupation given his prior vocational history and the impact of his service-connected right foot disabilities (i.e., pes planus, hallux valgus, and hallux rigidus), left foot disability(status post fracture with hallux valgus), back disability, right and left lower extremity radiculopathy, tinnitus, bilateral hearing loss, hypertension, right foot and back scars, and GERD, when taken together, have on obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful non-sedentary employment and sedentary employment, including in his past employment as a police officer.

The Veteran's claims for bilateral dry eyes with light sensitivity, tinnitus, left ear hearing loss, allergic rhinitis, cervical spine degenerative disease, recurrent right wrist tendonitis, fractured base of the fifth metacarpal of the right hand, asthma with obstructive sleep apnea, and GERD have all been granted effective December 1, 2017.,The Veteran's claims for service connection for bronchitis, a right shoulder disability, left wrist disability, left hand disability (claimed as osteoarthritis and tendonitis), and a left knee disability were denied.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability has been rated as noncompensable. The Board found that the evidence did not support a compensable rating.,The Veteran is seeking service connection for hypertension, stomach disability (GERD), skin cancer, and right testicle cancer. These issues are being remanded due to incomplete development of his claims.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for degenerative arthritis of the spine, left ankle post traumatic tendonitis, gastritis with gastroesophageal reflux disease, dermatitis, and scar, residual of spine surgery have all been denied.,Specifically, the Veteran's back disability was rated at 10 percent prior to September 22, 2020, and at 20 percent from that date onwards.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disability is granted as secondary to his service-connected disabilities.,Service connection for hearing loss is denied.

The Veteran's right knee disability, GERD, acquired mental health condition (excluding PTSD), and bilateral pes planus with bilateral plantar fasciitis, achilles tendonitis have been granted service connection. The Veteran's hernia, left side, groin muscle disability, right ear hearing loss, left ear hearing loss, left ear injury, throat gland disability, and ear wart disability have not been established as service-connected.

The Veteran's cervical spine disorder is denied as it did not pre-exist his military service and was not aggravated by service.,Service connection for right upper extremity cervical radiculopathy/carpal tunnel syndrome, left upper extremity cervical radiculopathy/carpal tunnel syndrome, and gastrointestinal disorder (GERD) are remanded due to the need for additional medical clarification.

The Veteran's GERD is rated at a 60% disability rating since July 30, 2019. The effective date for this rating is also July 30, 2019.

The Board has granted service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected sleep apnea, finding that there is at least an even balance of evidence supporting this claim.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection for various conditions were dismissed as the claims were not timely filed.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and a compensable disability rating are being remanded due to outstanding medical records, the need for VA examinations, and the requirement of TERA examinations.

The appeal for sleep apnea and increased rating for left ulnar nerve neuropathy has been dismissed.,The right wrist disability, cervical spine disability, and GERD (hiatal hernia) claims have been reopened and are being remanded.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's gastrointestinal disabilities are not related to his service and have been attributed to long-term tobacco use. As a result, the claim for service connection is denied.

The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of clarification in a previous VA opinion regarding the Veteran's use of over-the-counter medications for GERD before seeking treatment. The case will be returned for further proceedings.