Gulf War illness / chronic multisymptom decisions — 2023

The Veteran's PTSD symptoms have increased in severity within the year preceding May 19, 2018. A higher rating of 70 percent is granted.,PTSD symptoms include suicidal ideation, intermittent illogical speech, and difficulty establishing effective relationships.

The Veteran's service-connected musculoskeletal conditions have been granted based on chronic wear and tear in service.,Bilateral hearing loss was not established for VA purposes.

The Board has granted service connection for an undiagnosed illness manifested by muscle and joint pain of the upper and lower extremities, but denied service connection for fibromyalgia.

The Veteran's tummy tuck scar is granted service connection, but her GERD and cesarean section are denied. The bilateral tubal ligation surgery resulted in permanent sterilization as the intended result, so she cannot be granted service connection for that procedure. Joint pain (claimed as due to an undiagnosed illness) and seborrheic dermatitis have been remanded.

The claims for service connection of various conditions are being remanded due to the failure to provide proper notice and assistance prior to the April 2020 rating decision.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection on multiple conditions have been dismissed due to his withdrawal of the claims.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical nexus opinion regarding whether the Veteran's prostate disability is related to his service, specifically toxic exposure risk activity (TERA).

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for fibromyalgia, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), an undiagnosed illness, and erectile dysfunction (ED) due to inadequate opinions in the February 2014 VA examination reports. The Veteran is presumed exposed to toxic exposure during his service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations.

The Veteran's PTSD claim is granted as his reported in-service stressor of close enemy mortar attacks in Iraq is supported and related to fear of hostile military or terrorist activity.,The Veteran's cervical spine, headaches, and skin disability claims are denied as they have no known clinical basis and are not due to an undiagnosed illness.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to incomplete and inadequate addendum opinions, as well as outstanding VA and private treatment records that need to be obtained.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for headaches has been granted. The claims for irritable bowel syndrome, neurological symptoms due to Gulf War Syndrome, and residuals of traumatic brain injury are remanded for further evaluation.

The Veteran's migraine headaches are granted a higher rating of 50% from April 27, 2019 to October 21, 2019. Other conditions have been granted service connection with effective dates ranging from January 11, 2012 to October 21, 2019.

The Veteran's appeals for various conditions and ratings have been dismissed due to his withdrawal of all pending claims and appeals.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence in previous VA examinations. The Veteran is advised to provide updated treatment records and undergo new VA examinations, including Gulf War and toxic exposure risk activity (TERA) examinations.

The Board has dismissed the appeals for earlier effective dates for the grants of service connection for sleep apnea, fatigue with weakness as due to undiagnosed illness, posttraumatic stress disorder and moderate recurrent major depressive disorder, and left foot hallux valgus.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathy and an initial 40 percent rating for gulf war undiagnosed illness, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to his active service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss has been reopened and is granted. The VA examiner found that the Veteran's current disability raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating his claim.,The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for low back pain, PTSD, TBI with headaches and numbness of upper and lower extremities are remanded as there are no recent medical records to assess the severity of these conditions.,The Veteran's claims for service connection for right hip pain, eczema, and muscle/joint pain due to an undiagnosed illness are remanded as VA opinions are inadequate. Further development is needed to determine if his disabilities qualify under presumptive provisions or if they are related to service.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for right hip pain is remanded as the VA opinion of record was inadequate and did not address direct service connection, aggravation prong of secondary service connection, or provide a rationale based on medical literature.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for joint pain due to undiagnosed illness and lumbar spine degenerative arthritis should be remanded for additional development.

The Board denied service connection for an undiagnosed illness associated with Gulf War Syndrome (GWS) due to the lack of objective indications of a qualifying chronic disability that manifested during or prior to the period on appeal.,The Board also denied service connection for chronic headaches, finding no evidence linking these symptoms to service.