The Veteran's claim for service connection for stuffed nose is denied as there is no evidence of a current disability, and the Board finds that the symptoms do not meet the criteria for presumptive service connection.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for Bell's Palsy is granted as his condition has been present to a disabling degree within the applicable period following his Persian Gulf War service in the Southwest Asia theater.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was no current clinical objective evidence of disease or pathology to support a diagnosis for the claimed stuffed nose condition, and the Veteran's lay statements were outweighed by the competent and credible medical evidence.,The VA examiner diagnosed Bell's Palsy as a diagnosable but medically unexplained chronic multi-symptom illness. The Board found that the Veteran's symptoms manifested to a compensable level and concluded that his Bell's Palsy has been present to a disabling degree within the applicable period following his Persian Gulf War service in the Southwest Asia theater.
- Claimed conditions
- stuffed nose, Bell's Palsy
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 11, 2024
- Citation
- A24030874
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 A24030874.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
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- Denied
The Veteran's Bell's Palsy, Diabetes Mellitus Type II, Hypertension, Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Glaucoma, and Low Back Arthritis were denied as they did not manifest in service or for many years thereafter, and the evidence does not show that his disabilities are related to or may be associated with service.,The Veteran's low back arthritis was denied as there is no indication of an association between the disability claimed by the veteran and his active duty service.
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