Citation Nr: A20007341 Decision Date: 04/30/20 Archive Date: 04/30/20 DOCKET NO. 190912-32003 DATE: April 30, 2020 ORDER Service connection for sinusitis is denied. Service connection for hypertension is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. There is no competent evidence of record showing that the Veteran has ever been diagnosed sinusitis. 2. The weight of evidence supports the finding that the Veteran’s hypertension was diagnosed within one year of separation from active duty. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for service connection for sinusitis are not met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.304, 3.307, 3.309. 2. The criteria for service connection for hypertension are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.304, 3.307, 3.309. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty from May 2009 to April 2010 and from August 2015 to December 2016. He also had Reserve service. In September 2019, the Veteran filed a Decision Review Request: Board Appeal, Form 10182, regarding an August 2019 rating decision and selected direct review, electing not to introduce any other evidence and not to have a Board hearing. Service connection Service connection will be granted if the evidence demonstrates that a current disability resulted from an injury or disease incurred in or aggravated by active military service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. Service connection requires competent evidence showing: (1) the existence of a present disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the present disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service (nexus). Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Service connection may also be established with certain chronic diseases based upon a legal presumption by showing that the disorder manifested itself to a degree of 10 percent disabling or more within one year from the date of separation from service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1112, 1113, 1137; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307, 3.309(a). The first requirement for all claims for service connection, however, is evidence of a disability. Boyer v. West, 210 F.3d 1351 (Fed. Cir. 2000); Brammer v. Derwinski, 3 Vet. App. 223 (1992). Sinusitis Though the Veteran has sought service connection for sinusitis, the Board does not find that there are any medical records of evidence, including the Veteran’s service treatment records (STRs) or VA medical records, which show the Veteran has ever been diagnosed with sinusitis or currently has a diagnosis of sinusitis. Indeed, an August 2019 VA medical examination specifically indicated that the Veteran did not have a diagnosis of sinusitis. Significantly, neither the Veteran nor his representative have identified or introduced any evidence which shows that the Veteran has a diagnosis of sinusitis. Additionally, the Board notes that the Veteran is service connected for his diagnosed rhinitis. The probative medical evidence of record, then, including the Veteran’s STRs, does not show that the Veteran has been diagnosed with sinusitis. Service connection for sinusitis, therefore, must be denied because the first essential element necessary to grant service connection, competent evidence of the disability for which service connection is sought, is not met. Thus, as the preponderance of the evidence is against a finding that the Veteran had sinusitis, there is no doubt to resolve in his favor. Hypertension The records show that the Veteran was diagnosed by his VA treating physician with uncontrolled hypertension in December 2017 and was placed on medication to control his blood pressure. Though the Board notes that the Veteran’s blood pressure readings were not contained in his VA treatment records in his December 2017 visit, resolving all reasonable doubt in the Veteran’s favor, the Board finds that the Veteran’s hypertension was diagnosed to a 10 percent compensable degree (Continued on the next page)   within one year of his December 2016 separation from service. Moreover, the fact remains that the Veteran’s elevated blood pressure led to the diagnosis of and treatment for his hypertension. As such, service connection for hypertension is granted. JOHN Z. JONES Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Parrish, Associate Counsel The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.