Citation Nr: 21069560
Decision Date: 11/18/21	Archive Date: 11/18/21

DOCKET NO. 15-12 951
DATE: November 18, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to a disability evaluation greater than 10 percent for rhinitis effective December 18, 2019, and entitlement to a compensable evaluation for rhinitis prior to December 18, 2019, is remanded.

Entitlement to a compensable disability evaluation for sinusitis is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served honorably in the United States Army from October 1990 to October 2010.  

These issues come before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2012rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  In November 2018, the Veteran testified at a Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge.  The transcript is of record.

1. Entitlement to an evaluation greater than 10 percent for rhinitis effective December 18, 2019, and entitlement to a compensable evaluation for rhinitis prior to December 18, 2019, is remanded.

2. Entitlement to a compensable evaluation for sinusitis is remanded.

The Veteran's last VA examination took plaice in December 2019.  There is evidence of record indicating that the severity of the service connected disabilities may have increased since the last VA examination.  In July 2020, the Veteran's sister wrote, in part, to explain to current severity of the Veteran's rhinitis and sinusitis symptoms.  The Veteran's sister stated that the Veteran has multiple sinus headaches that turn into infections during a month during which the Veteran is unable to perform regular day-to-day activities.  In August 2020, the Veteran's treating nurse practitioner since 2011 noted more than six episodes of sinusitis a year, characterized by headaches, sinus pain or pressure, runny nose, nasal congestion, cough, upper dentalgia, purulent discharge, nausea, and dizziness.  The Veteran also endorsed these symptoms in an August 2020 statement.  The nurse practitioner found that these symptoms affected the Veteran's sleep and caused the Veteran to miss work.  As there is evidence of a possible increase in symptomology since the time of the last VA examination a current VA examination is warranted.

The matters are REMANDED for the following actions:

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1. Schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the current severity of the service-connected rhinitis and sinusitis.  The examiner should provide a full description of the disability and report all signs and symptoms necessary for evaluating the Veteran's disability under the rating criteria. 

The examiner should consider the entire medical evidence of record and, to the extent possible, provide a timeline of the severity of the Veteran's rhinitis and sinusitis since separation from active duty in October 2010 to the present if possible.

 

 

G. A. WASIK

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	James Hekel

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.