Citation Nr: 18152902 Decision Date: 11/26/18 Archive Date: 11/26/18 DOCKET NO. 13-12 351 DATE: November 26, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for sinusitis is denied. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran’s current sinusitis was first manifested several years after service, and the preponderance of the evidence is against a finding that such disease is etiologically related to the Veteran’s service. CONCLUSION OF LAW Service connection for sinusitis is not warranted. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.12, 3.13, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran was discharged under dishonorable conditions for VA purposes for the period of service from May 1997 to May 2000; however, the Veteran’s service from June 1980 to May 1997 is considered honorable for VA purposes and will be considered in making a determination in this decision. See February 2011 Administrative Decision. Service connection may be granted for a condition that is shown to have been incurred during a period of service that was honorable for VA purposes. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.12, 3.13. This matter was previously before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on an appeal from an August 2011 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Louisville, Kentucky. 1. Entitlement to service connection for sinusitis The Veteran contends that his current sinusitis is attributable to his active service. The Veteran’s service treatment records (STRs) are negative for complaints, diagnosis, or treatment of sinusitis during active service. A February 1988 treatment report shows that the Veteran was treated for a phlegmon on the right side of his nose, which was treated with antibiotics and hot compress, and there is no evidence of continued treatment for the condition. See February 1988 STRs. In a periodic physical in December 1997, the Veteran was negative for sinusitis or related conditions. See December 1997 STRs. After the Veteran left active service, a private physician diagnosed him with probable sinusitis in November 2002. A follow-up report in December 2002 described the Veteran’s congestion as much better, with no sinus pain or pressure, no evidence of pus or polyps, and the nasal airway was open and clear bilaterally. The Veteran was next diagnosed, at a VA facility, with sinusitis in August 2014. The Veteran’s treatment records from the Central Arkansas VA Healthcare System from August 2014 to July 2018 are negative for any opinion or evidence for a causal nexus between the Veteran’s current sinusitis and his active service. During the Veteran’s April 2018 VA examination, the VA examiner concluded that the Veteran’s condition was less likely than not incurred in or caused by the claimed in-service injury, event, or illness. The examiner, who reviewed the claims file, opined that the in-service condition was acute only, that there was no evidence of chronicity of care, and that no nexus had been established. In considering the Veteran’s contentions, the Board notes that he is competent to observe lay symptoms but does not have the training or credentials to provide a competent opinion as to a diagnosis or the onset date of such diagnosis. See Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372, 1377 (Fed. Cir. 2007). His lay contentions are thus of markedly lower probative value than, and are outweighed by, the April 2018 VA examination opinion. There is no other competent medical opinion of record supporting his claim. In summary, the preponderance of the evidence of record indicates that the Veteran’s current sinusitis is unrelated to his active service. Accordingly, service connection for sinusitis is denied. In reaching the above conclusions, the Board has considered the applicability of the benefit of the doubt doctrine. However, as the preponderance of the evidence is against the Veteran’s claim, that doctrine is not applicable in this appeal. 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b). A. C. MACKENZIE Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Evan Thomas Hicks