Sinusitis decisions — 2022

The Board has remanded the case due to a reasonable possibility that the Veteran was unemployable due to his service-connected disabilities, including sinusitis and hemorrhoids. The case is referred for extraschedular consideration of a TDIU.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal seeking an earlier effective date for service connection for chronic sinusitis.

The Veteran's hypertension was not shown to be related to service, and thus service connection is denied.,Her chronic bronchitis has been asymptomatic throughout the appeal period, preventing a compensable rating under VA criteria.,Prior to November 18, 2020, her sinusitis did not meet the criteria for a compensable disability rating due to its asymptomatic nature.,The Veteran's herpes did not affect more than 20% of her entire body or exposed areas and did not require corticosteroid or other immunosuppressant drugs for at least 6 weeks, preventing an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent.,Her left ankle disability did not meet the criteria for a rating in excess of 10 percent due to marked limitation of motion.

The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeals for service connection of right-hand, left-hand, and sinusitis disabilities due to herbicide exposure. The remaining issue is the grant of service connection for a right knee disability.

The Veteran's allergic rhinitis was rated as noncompensably disabling prior to December 5, 2019, and 10 percent disabling thereafter.,The Veteran's sinusitis has been rated at a 10 percent disability rating since December 5, 2019.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is secondary to his service-connected sinusitis and remanded for further development.

The Board denied service connection for sinusitis, urticaria, sleep apnea, and a sleep disorder (part of PTSD) as there is no evidence of current diagnoses during the appeal period.,Service connection was granted for clinical dyspepsia with a rating of 10%.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient opinions regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected disabilities caused or aggravated his obesity, which in turn may have contributed to his sleep apnea.

The Board denied service connection for additional dental disabilities, ear disabilities (including vertigo), and nasal disabilities. The evidence did not show any in-service injury or disease resulting in bone loss of the maxilla or mandible, or other dental conditions.,Service connection was also denied for ear disabilities including vertigo, as there is no evidence that these conditions began during service or are related to an in-service injury or disease.

The Veteran's allergic rhinitis and migraines have been granted a rating, but the ratings for migraines are denied prior to January 21, 2021, and after July 27, 2022. The Veteran is currently rated with a 10 percent disability rating for migraines as of July 27, 2022.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a separate and distinct diagnosis of anxiety. The claims for service connection for blurred vision, cephalgia (headaches), chronic sinusitis, and Osgood-Schlatter Disease, left knee are REMANDED as additional development is needed to address whether these conditions are related to service-connected disabilities or other factors.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a compensable initial rating for sinusitis, finding that his symptoms did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under Diagnostic Code 6513.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for a VA examination to assess the Veteran's functional impairment from his service-connected disabilities, as he failed to report to previous examinations. The TDIU claim is being returned to the RO for further action.

The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for a respiratory disorder, headaches, depression and anxiety, bilateral foot disability, lower back condition, and bilateral ankle disability due to inadequacies in the VA examination reports.

The Board has remanded the case due to conflicting medical opinions regarding whether any of the Veteran's service-connected disabilities caused or contributed to his death. The case needs further development with an adequate VA medical opinion.

The Board has granted service connection for sinusitis but remanded the case for further examination regarding a left shoulder disability.

The Veteran's initial rating for DDD of the cervical spine was denied as it did not meet the criteria for a higher rating. The Veteran's insomnia disorder, right shoulder strain, and foot conditions were also denied their respective increased ratings.

The Veteran's rhinitis and sinusitis with loss of smell are granted as service connected due to exposure to burn pits during his deployment in Kuwait.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for pes planus, right ankle disability, left ankle disability, right knee disability, and sinusitis due to insufficient detail in the previous VA examination opinions.

The Board dismissed the appeal of service connection for hypertension. Service connection was granted for sinusitis and allergic rhinitis, both being presumed due to exposure in Southwest Asia.