Citation Nr: 18159078
Decision Date: 12/19/18	Archive Date: 12/18/18

DOCKET NO. 16-44 148
DATE:	December 19, 2018
ORDER
Service connection for allergic rhinitis is granted.
Service connection for chronic sinusitis is granted.
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. Allergic rhinitis was caused by in-service exposure to pesticide spray.
2. Chronic sinusitis was caused by in-service exposure to pesticide spray.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. The criteria for service connection for allergic rhinitis have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.159, 3.303 (2017).
2. The criteria for service connection for chronic sinusitis have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.159, 3.303 (2017).
REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS
The Veteran served in the U.S. Air Force from June 1964 to February 1968. He also served in the Air National Guard of Rhode Island and as a Reserve of the U.S. Air Force. He served in the Republic of Vietnam.
1. Entitlement to service connection for allergic rhinitis.
2. Entitlement to service connection for chronic sinusitis.
Service connection may be granted for current disability arising from disease or injury incurred or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131. Service connection may be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). Service connection generally requires (1) medical evidence of a current disability; (2) medical or, in certain circumstances, lay evidence of in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) medical evidence of a nexus between the claimed in-service disease or injury and the current disability. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004).
A September 2012 VA examination report states that the Veteran had chronic sinusitis and allergic rhinitis since 1994.
The Veteran has reported that he was exposed to pesticide spray in February or March 1994 while serving in the National Guard. In a May 2010 decision, the Board determined that the Veteran was on active duty during this time and granted service connection for asthma arising out of this incident.
A December 2009 VA examination report states that following exposure to the pesticide spray in 1994, the Veteran developed, in pertinent part, rhinitis and sinusitis. The examiner opined that “the pesticide exposure triggered, via allergic mechanisms of histamine release, the cascade of skin rash, rhinitis[,] bronchitis, asthma[,] and sinusitis” and that he has continued to experience the disorders since that time.
The Board finds that service connection for both chronic sinusitis and allergic rhinitis is warranted and the claim is granted.
 
LAURA E. COLLINS
Acting Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	J. E. Miller, Associate Counsel