The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for rhinitis and sinusitis due to insufficient evidence regarding whether these conditions pre-existed his military service or were aggravated by it.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not provide a clear and unmistakable opinion on whether the Veteran’s allergic rhinitis and/or chronic sinusitis existed prior to entering active duty in August 1982, nor whether they were clearly and unmistakably not aggravated during his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- rhinitis (originally claimed as allergies), sinusitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 13, 2018
- Citation
- 18157651
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 18157651.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for asthma and remanded claims for insomnia and sleep apnea. Other conditions were denied.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including bilateral hearing loss and various musculoskeletal issues, as well as an initial rating in excess of 0 percent for rhinitis. However, the Board granted a 70 percent rating for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including sinusitis, elbows condition, cervical condition, erectile dysfunction, kidney condition, sleep apnea, wrists condition, asthma, shoulders condition, ankles condition, eye condition (bilateral dry macular degeneration), peripheral vascular disease (heart condition), and rhinitis.
- Partly granted
The Board granted higher ratings for the Veteran's service-connected carpal tunnel syndrome and cubital tunnel syndrome of both upper extremities, but remanded claims for service connection for sinusitis, calcified lymph nodes on the lungs, and cervical strain.
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