Sinusitis decisions — 2024

The Board has decided to remand the cases for obtaining missing VA treatment records and private treatment records, including those from the Naval Hospital in Pensacola.

The Board has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's claims for service connection, including tinnitus, an acquired psychiatric disability, acne, pseudofolliculitis barbae, knee disabilities, hip disabilities, and sinusitis. The reasons for remand include the need for additional medical opinions regarding the nature and etiology of these conditions.

The Board has granted service connection for sinusitis and allergic rhinitis, finding that the conditions are presumptively linked to the Veteran's Southwest Asia theater of operations service due to exposure to burn pits.

The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection for various conditions due to the Veteran's death during the appeal process.

The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings and service connection was denied. The decision also noted that the Veteran's TDIU claim prior to November 30, 2023, is denied.

The Veteran's chronic sinusitis is granted as service connected due to exposure to cold weather during his active duty in Germany.

The Veteran's initial compensable rating for CALM and his initial rating of 20 percent for bilateral dry eye syndrome have been granted. Service connection has been denied for microcytic anemia, left varicocele, sinusitis, and allergic rhinitis.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for irritable bowel syndrome, sphincter impairment, a skin rash, left shoulder degenerative arthritis with tendinitis, and left ankle degenerative arthritis have all been denied. The Board has also remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for vertigo and sinusitis/rhinitis.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is pending.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty to assist error in obtaining an adequate medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's sinusitis is related to his service, specifically the documented cyst excision during service.

The Board has granted service connection for rhinitis and sinusitis, low back stiffness, left hip condition, neck injury, and bilateral knee disability. The evidence is nearly balanced as to whether these conditions had their onset during the Veteran's active duty.

The Board has denied service connection for chronic sinusitis and a left hip condition as there is no current diagnosis of these conditions, and the Veteran's claims are based on presumptive exposure to particulate matter in Southwest Asia. The Veteran was not found to have functional impairment or a current diagnosis of either condition.

Service connection for tinnitus is granted. Service connection for sinusitis, deviated septum, and bilateral hearing loss are denied.,Service connection for allergic rhinitis is remanded due to insufficient evidence.

The Board has granted service connection for left knee disability, right knee disability, and nasal disability.,Service connection is established for these conditions based on the evidence of record showing they had onset during active duty training (ACDUTRA).

The Veteran's stomach ulcers are granted service connection and rated at 50% effective January 1, 2019.,The Veteran's migraines are granted an initial 30% rating effective September 23, 2019.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea as secondary to his service-connected sinusitis and asthma, finding that the evidence supports a causal link between these conditions.

The Veteran's claims for psoriasis and bilateral chronic maxillary sinusitis were dismissed because the Notice of Disagreement (NOD) was not filed within one year after the rating decisions, which is a procedural defect.

The Board has remanded the claims of entitlement to service connection for a back disability, right shoulder disability, left shoulder disability, and chronic sinusitis due to duty-to-assist errors. The Veteran's hemorrhoids claim is denied.

The Board has granted service connection for chronic maxillary sinusitis and assigned a noncompensable rating, effective February 18, 2015. A separate compensable rating of 10 percent was also granted for the associated deviated nasal septum.

The appeal is dismissed as the proposed severance of service connection for gum recession and sensitivity was not a final decision, and there are no allegations of errors in the initial grant or denial of service connection.

The Veteran's claim for an initial compensable rating for tinea versicolor on the face is denied.,The Veteran's claims for service connection for migraine headaches, tinnitus, eczema (face), a respiratory disorder (chronic sinusitis, rhinitis, deviated nasal septum), and pelvic inflammatory disease are all remanded.