Sinusitis decisions — 2016

The Veteran's service-connected chronic sinusitis is manifested by three or more incapacitating episodes per year requiring prolonged antibiotic treatment, and the Board has determined that a disability rating of 30 percent is warranted.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and conducting dental and respiratory examinations.

The Board finds that the Veteran's cause of death, listed as acute respiratory failure due to COPD, was not caused or substantially contributed to by any service-connected condition. The appellant's claim for a heart disability in service is unsubstantiated and speculative.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for new VA examinations to evaluate his current service-connected disabilities.

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to properly adjudicate the Veteran's claims, including obtaining a new VA examination for his left knee disability and issuing supplemental statements of the case addressing all issues on appeal.

The Board has found that the Veteran's sinusitis is attributable to service and granted her claim for service connection.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a sinus disorder, including sinusitis and rhinitis, was denied as there is no current diagnosis of such conditions. The Board found the Veteran's statements regarding past treatment in service were not credible due to inconsistencies with contemporaneous medical records.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for a bilateral eye disability, dental disability, sinusitis, respiratory disorder and testicular cyst were denied as there is no credible evidence of an in-service injury or disease related to these conditions. The Board also found that the Veteran does not have any diagnosed dental disabilities for which compensation may be granted.

The Veteran seeks service connection for sleep apnea, which she claims is related to her service-connected rhino sinusitis and/or fibromyalgia. The Board has ordered a remand due to the need for additional development of the record.

The Veteran has been granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and a depressive disorder, as well as sinusitis with polyps. Both conditions are found to be related to the Veteran's military service.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional VA treatment records and a new medical examination.

The Veteran's service-connected conditions, including alopecia, sinusitis, fibromyalgia, lumbosacral strain, osteoarthropathy of the right and left knees, have been granted with a 10 percent rating for each condition. The effective date is not specified.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for herpes simplex virus is granted. The Board finds that the penile lesion noted in service was at least as likely as not herpes in character, and affords the benefit of doubt to the Veteran.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim of service connection for an upper respiratory disorder, specifically rhinitis/sinusitis. The evidence shows that the Veteran had chronic rhinitis during his military service and continues to experience symptoms since then.

The Veteran's sinusitis was rated as 10 percent disabling, and the Board found that there were not more than three to six non-incapacitating episodes per year of sinusitis characterized by headaches, pain, and purulent discharge or crusting. The Veteran did not meet the criteria for a higher rating.,The Veteran's PTSD was diagnosed but service connection was denied as the evidence did not establish that his in-service stressors occurred.

The Board has dismissed the Veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for sinusitis and a personality disorder. The claim of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is remanded.

The Veteran asserts that his respiratory disability, including pharyngitis, sinusitis, asthma, and COPD, is related to service exposure to chloropicrin gas during riot control operations in Japan. The case is being remanded for a VA examination to determine the etiology of these disabilities.

The Veteran's chronic frontal sinusitis has not been manifested by one or two incapacitating episodes per year of sinusitis requiring prolonged (lasting four to six weeks) antibiotic treatment, or; by three to six non-incapacitating episodes per year of sinusitis characterized by headaches, pain and purulent discharge or crusting. Therefore, the criteria for a compensable rating have not been met.

The Veteran's service-connected migraines and sleep apnea make him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, meeting the criteria for a TDIU.

The Veteran's peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities is found to be related to his service-connected diabetes mellitus, and thus granted.,COPD is presumed due to Agent Orange exposure and is therefore granted.