Glaucoma Board decisions

The Veteran's right eye disabilities have not resulted in the required visual impairment to warrant a higher rating. The Board denied his claims for increased ratings and TDIU.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have an enlarged heart or glaucoma, and service connection for these conditions cannot be granted. The effective date of service connection for PTSD is denied.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for GERD is denied as there is no evidence of a current diagnosis or relationship to service. The claim for an initial rating of 10 percent for glaucoma is granted.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining medical records and securing updated VA treatment records. The AOJ will also obtain SSA records and determine if any of the claimed disabilities are related to his active service.

The Veteran's service-connected conditions do not render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for head injury, bilateral leg sciatica, disability manifested by motion sickness and dizziness, tinnitus, bilateral glaucoma, bilateral cataracts, left eye detached retina (secondary to left eye cataracts), left hand disability (secondary to neck disability), right hand disability (secondary to neck disability), bilateral shoulder disability (secondary to neck disability), joint disability, neck disability, acquired psychiatric disorder (posttraumatic stress disorder) (secondary to service-connected lumbar spine disability), and sleep apnea have been denied. The Veteran withdrew these claims during his Board hearing.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for status-post left great toe trauma, left Achilles tendonitis, and right eye glaucoma was granted. The effective date for the grant of service connection for right eye glaucoma is set at September 1, 2004.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims due to the need for additional development, including obtaining VA and private treatment records and scheduling a VA examination.

The Veteran's eye problems, including glaucoma and dry eyes, are service-connected. However, his arthritis of the right knee and left knee are not service-connected.

The Veteran's diabetes mellitus with hypertension, erectile dysfunction, and gastroparesis is rated at 20 percent prior to June 9, 2016, and 60 percent thereafter. The Veteran's atherosclerotic coronary vascular disease (CAD) is also rated at 60 percent since May 10, 2016. Service connection has been established for right and left upper extremity neuropathy, lip disability, mitral regurgitation and tricuspid regurgitation, glaucoma/cataracts, chronic kidney disease, hypertension, erectile dysfunction, and gastroparesis as secondary to diabetes mellitus.

The Board has granted service connection for a bilateral eye condition, elevated intraocular pressures, unknown etiology, and pre-glaucoma open angle with cupping of optic discs. The Veteran's private physician found a high chance that the current open angle glaucoma is related to his previous eye trauma during active service.

The Board finds that the Veteran's glaucoma is at least as likely as not incurred in service, and grants service connection for simple glaucoma with bilateral snowflake cortical cataracts.

The Board has denied service connection for a heart disability, an acquired psychiatric disability, and GERD. The Veteran's diagnoses do not meet the criteria for service connection as they are either unrelated to his in-service exposure or due to other causes.,Specifically, the examiner found that the Veteran's mild aortic atherosclerosis with history of myocardial infarction is less likely than not related to any in-service herbicide exposure and was not caused by his service-connected diabetes mellitus. The acquired psychiatric disability developed approximately 30 years prior to his diabetes diagnosis and is less likely than not worsened by his service-connected diabetes mellitus. His GERD is also less likely than not the result of herbicide exposure during active service or caused by his service-connected diabetes mellitus.

The Veteran seeks service connection for glaucoma, which he claims is secondary to his service-connected diabetes mellitus. The case is being remanded to obtain additional medical records and provide a VA examination.

The Veteran's claims for increased disability rating, service connection, and TDIU are being remanded due to the need for additional development of his VA treatment records.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling a new examination to assess the Veteran's left ear hearing loss and eye disability.

The case is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining Social Security Administration records and scheduling the Veteran for VA examinations to address his claimed conditions.

The Veteran's left eye disorder is not service-connected as it did not manifest in service and there is no evidence of a nexus between the current condition and his military service.,Service connection for sleep apnea has been granted as the Veteran experienced symptoms during service and post-service, with medical opinion supporting an etiological link to active duty.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection of glaucoma, which was secondary to a service-connected condition (right epiretinal membrane).

The Veteran's residuals of stroke with neovascular glaucoma with loss of vision in the right eye are found to be etiologically related to his service-connected diabetes mellitus, and thus service connection is granted.