Sinusitis decisions — 2003

The veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection were denied. The RO granted service connection for a scar on the right upper lip but assigned a no percent rating.

The veteran's appeal was dismissed due to his death, and the Board had no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of this claim.

The veteran seeks service connection for sinusitis. The VA has not adequately notified him of the VCAA requirements and needs to provide additional development, including an examination to determine if he has chronic sinus disability related to his service.

The Board has reopened the claims for service connection for heart disorder, irregular menses with endometriosis, chronic genitourinary disease, bilateral fibrocystic breast disease, and allergic rhinitis with alleged sinusitis. The claim for service connection for bronchitis remains denied as new evidence is not significant enough to reopen it.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for an eye disorder, increased ratings for varicose veins of the right leg and sinusitis, and a temporary total rating based on convalescence following surgery in February 1995.

The Board finds that the veteran's sleep apnea and sinusitis are not related to service or his service-connected tonsillectomy, and thus denied these claims.

The Board has granted a 30 percent rating for vasomotor rhinitis, finding that the disability picture more nearly approximates the criteria required for that rating. The veteran's lumbar spine degenerative arthritis is rated under Diagnostic Codes 6522 and 6523.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities, particularly his low back disability, prevent him from securing and following gainful employment. The Board has determined that the veteran meets the requirements for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service connected disabilities.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his left knee disability and left maxillary sinusitis, finding that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under the applicable diagnostic codes.

The Board has determined that the veteran's maxillary sinusitis does not meet the criteria for a compensable evaluation, as there is no evidence of at least one incapacitating episode per year or three to six non-incapacitating episodes per year with headaches, pain, and purulent discharge or crusting.

The veteran's claims for service connection were denied as the evidence did not show that any of his claimed conditions began or worsened during active duty.

The Board has determined that the veteran's restrictive airway disease (asthma) and chronic rhinitis/sinusitis are service-connected, with no indication of any presumptive exposure or undiagnosed illness.

Your appeals for service connection have been dismissed due to your failure to file a timely substantive appeal.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a right knee disability secondary to his service-connected left knee disability, sinusitis, an acquired psychiatric disorder (other than PTSD), and post-traumatic stress disorder. The claim for increased rating of service-connected left knee disorder was also denied.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional evidence and information from him.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluations for his sinusitis and gunshot wound residuals, finding that the evidence did not meet the criteria for higher ratings based on functional impairment or incapacitating episodes.

The Board has granted a 10 percent disability rating for rhinitis with inferior turbinate cautery, effective from the date of the decision. The claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea is also granted as secondary to service-connected rhinitis.

The VA denied the veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected allergic rhinitis and maxillary sinusitis, finding that his condition did not meet the criteria for a higher rating based on the current diagnostic codes.

The veteran's claims for increased evaluation of acne vulgaris, reopening of service connection claims for residuals of an injury to the head and eye, sinusitis, pilonidal cyst, and gastrointestinal disorder as secondary to acne vulgaris have all been denied. The RO found that new and material evidence was not submitted in support of these claims.

The Board has granted service connection for sinusitis, hypertension, and hemorrhoids. The claim for service connection for a multiple joint disorder (to include arthritis and gout) is pending.