IBS & irritable bowel decisions — 2026

The Veteran's claim for an initial disability rating of 20 percent for IBS is granted, effective July 17, 2024. The claim for an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for IBS is denied.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for a bilateral knee condition, IBS, bilateral plantar fasciitis, and lower back condition. The evidence does not support current diagnoses or a link between these conditions and active duty.

The Veteran's TDIU claim is denied as he has been employed as an auto mechanic since November 2022, earning above the poverty threshold and not requiring accommodations from his employer.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, headaches, gastrointestinal condition (to include IBS), and mental health disorder have been dismissed due to the Veteran withdrawing his appeal. The claims for headaches, gastrointestinal condition, and mental health disorder are remanded.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of June 1, 2014 for the grant of service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), hiatal hernia, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is granted.

The Veteran's IBS was granted an initial rating of 30 percent, effective from June 5, 2023. The condition is characterized by diarrhea or alternating diarrhea and constipation with more or less constant abdominal distress.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates, finding that the criteria were not met to grant these benefits prior to the specified dates. The TDIU claim was denied as there was no evidence showing other service-connected disabilities contributed to his inability to work during the relevant period.

The Board has remanded the case due to errors in duty to assist and regulatory or statutory duties, specifically for a VA examination and opinion regarding the etiology of the gastrointestinal disability, including cecal mass.

The Veteran's service connection claims for various conditions, including IBS, subcutaneous cell carcinoma, colon cancer, testicular cancer and removal, esophageal disability, peripheral neuropathy, CFS, malaise, and PTSD were denied. The Board found no evidence of a nexus between the claimed disabilities and service.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for entitlement to service connection for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) as secondary to his service-connected acquired psychiatric disorder.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for GERD was denied. The earlier effective dates for various conditions were also denied.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal concerning the issue of entitlement to service connection for IBS.

The Veteran's lumbosacral strain and MDD have been granted effective from the dates of their respective claims.,Service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the LUE, posttraumatic headaches, IBS, and left shoulder strain has not yet been established.

The Veteran's TDIU claim was denied as his service-connected disabilities did not prevent him from securing and maintaining substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection were denied. The Board found that the Veteran did not meet the criteria for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, hemorrhoids, or migraine headaches. Service connection was also denied for various conditions including PTSD, PDD, SSD, GAD, irritable bowel syndrome, dyspnea, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and abdominal pain syndrome.

The Board has denied service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, an acquired psychiatric disability (to include PTSD), hypertension, irritable bowel syndrome, headaches (to include migraines), and a cervical spine disability. The claims are being remanded to the AOJ for further development.,No specific rating or effective date was assigned in this decision.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for irritable bowel syndrome and urinary frequency have been denied as there is no evidence of a current disability.

The Board denied earlier effective dates for service connection of various joint and muscle conditions, including left shoulder strain, limitation of flexion; right shoulder strain, limitation of flexion; left elbow strain, limitation of flexion; right elbow strain, limitation of flexion; left knee strain, limitation of flexion; right knee strain, limitation of flexion; left thumb condition; left index finger condition; left long finger condition; left ring finger condition; and left pinky finger condition. The Board also denied earlier effective dates for service connection of irritable bowel syndrome.

The Board dismissed the application to readjudicate the previously denied claim of entitlement to service connection for a liver condition. The application to readjudicate the previously denied claim of entitlement to service connection for IBS is granted, but the Veteran's claim for IBS is denied as there is no current diagnosis.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty-to-assist error in obtaining private treatment records from GLST related to IBS. The Veteran is asked to provide or authorize VA to obtain any outstanding records.