Citation Nr: 21065139 Decision Date: 10/25/21 Archive Date: 10/25/21 DOCKET NO. 12-33 097 DATE: October 25, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for allergies is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for hypertension is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served active duty in the United States Army from August 1973 to August 1976. In April 2017, the Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge at a Video Conference hearing. A copy of the transcript has been associated with the claims file. In September 2017 and February 2019, the Board remanded the appeal for further development. In September 2020, the Board issued a decision which denied the claims on appeal. The Veteran filed a timely appeal to the Court of Appeals for Veterans' Claims (Court). In an August 2021 Joint Motion for Remand (JMR), the parties agreed to remand the appeal to the Board for further development. 1. Service connection for allergies is remanded. The Veteran contends that his allergies are due to his period of service. In September 2019, a VA opinion regarding service connection for allergies based on aggravation of a preexisting condition was proffered. While the examiner found that the Veteran's preexisting condition was not aggravated beyond the natural progression during his period of service, the August 2021 JMR notes that the presumption of soundness is not overcome solely by the description of the Veteran's history of allergies on report at entry. Furthermore, in October 2021 correspondence, the Veteran, through his representative, asserted that his report of eye symptomatology and sinus and cold complaints during service indicate development of or, in the alternative, aggravation of his allergies. The Veteran's representative noted such complaints in the August 1973, February 1975, June 1976 and July 1976 service treatment records. As the first prong of the presumption of soundness has not been met, the September 2019 opinion is inadequate for the purposes of adjudicating the claim, and a remand is necessary to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's allergy condition. 2. Service connection for hypertension is remanded. The Veteran contends that his hypertension is secondary to his allergy medication. As the outcome of the Veteran's claim for service connection for allergies would affect the claim of service connection for hypertension, the matters are inextricably intertwined. Thus, the issue is also remanded pending adjudication of the claim for service connection for allergies. See Harris v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 180, 183 (1991) (noting that two or more issues are inextricably intertwined if one claim could have significant impact on the other). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Send the Veteran's claims file to an appropriate examiner to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's allergies. The examiner should review the claims file. After review of the file, the examiner is asked to address the following: a. Determine whether the Veteran's allergies clearly and unmistakably existed prior to service. The examiner is asked to explain in detail the reasoning behind any conclusion reached. b. IF the examiner finds that the Veteran's allergies clearly and unmistakably existed prior to entry of service, the examiner is asked to determine whether there is clear and unmistakable evidence that the Veteran's pre-existing allergies condition was not aggravated beyond natural progression during service. In making these determinations the examiner is asked to consider and discuss the August 1973 entry records, as well as the August 1973, February 1975, June 1976 and July 1976 service treatment records regarding eye symptomatology, chest congestion and sinus and cold complaints. c. IF the examiner determines that the Veteran's allergies did not clearly and unmistakably exist prior to service, the examiner is asked to determine whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) that the Veteran's allergies began during active service, or is related to an incident of service. In making these determinations the examiner is asked to consider and discuss the August 1973, February 1975, June 1976 and July 1976 service treatment records regarding eye symptomatology, chest congestion and sinus and cold complaints, and the May 2003 VA medical records. JENNIFER HWA Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board C. Ford 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.