Citation Nr: 22014672 Decision Date: 03/14/22 Archive Date: 03/14/22 DOCKET NO. 19-39 251 DATE: March 14, 2022 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a respiratory condition, to include asthma, is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty with the U.S. Marines from July 1990 to July 1994. He testified at a Board hearing in September 2021 before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A transcript is associated with the record. 1. Entitlement to service connection for a respiratory condition, to include asthma, is remanded. 2. Entitlement to service connection for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is remanded. During the Board hearing, the Veteran testified that he was exposed fumes from burns pits he managed during service. He began experiencing symptoms related to what he believed to be IBS soon after. Those symptoms have continued until present day. Review of the Veteran's treatment records shows diagnoses and ongoing treatment for IBS-D and asthma. His military personnel records confirm service in Saudi Arabia in February 1991, aboard the USS Guam for Operation Desert Storm from February 1991 to April 1991, and in Somalia from December 1992 to April 1993. Gulf War VA examinations were conducted in January 2018 and the examiner found that the Veteran did not have a diagnosis of IBS, asthma, or any related conditions. Rather, his loose stools were due to eating significant fiber-based foods. Testing to confirm a respiratory condition were negative for any indicators for asthma but incidental findings were due to obesity. However, a private opinion was submitted in December 2019 and the physician indicated that the Veteran's IBS and asthma were due to exposures during service. Unfortunately, the opinion did not provide enough rationale or address whether the Veteran's service records were reviewed in connection with the conclusion. Furthermore, this opinion does not indicate that the Veteran's asthma was diagnosed within 10 years of discharge from military service, which is required for presumptive service connection purposes. Based on the foregoing, the Board finds a remand is necessary to determine whether the Veteran's diagnosed IBS and asthma confirmed in his treatment records are due to his service. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination for his claimed IBS and respiratory condition, to include asthma. The examiner must review the claims file. The examiner is asked to provide a response to the following: Does the Veteran have IBS? If so, is IBS at least as likely as not related to service, including exposure to burn pits (use of diesel fuel to burn fecal matter) in service? Does the Veteran have a diagnosis of asthma? If so, when was the onset of his asthma symptoms? If asthma did not present itself within 10 years of service, the examiner is asked to opine as to whether asthma at least as likely as not related to service, including exposure to burn pits in service? Provide a rationale to support the opinion(s). In providing the requested opinion, consider the Veteran's description of his descriptions of in-service events and symptoms as well as his post-service symptoms. If there is any medical reason to accept or reject the proposition that the Veteran's reported injury and symptoms in service and thereafter represented the onset of his current disability, this should be noted. Stated another way, do the Veteran's reports about his symptoms align with how the currently diagnosed disability is known to develop or are the Veteran's reports generally inconsistent with medical knowledge or implausible? H.M. WALKER Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Price, Esq. 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.