Citation Nr: A25035508 Decision Date: 04/17/25 Archive Date: 04/17/25 DOCKET NO. 210217-140065 DATE: April 17, 2025 ORDER The issue of entitlement to service connection for chronic sinusitis is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran has a current diagnosis of chronic sinusitis that was incurred in active service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for chronic sinusitis have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active service from January 1980 to April 1984. This appeal is being processed in the modernized review system, commonly referred to as the "AMA," as established by the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017. 115 Pub. L. No. 55, 131 Stat. 1105. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal of a January 2021 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regional office, an agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ). The Veteran initiated his appeal by submitting a February 2021 VA Form 10182, Decision Review Request: Board Appeal (Notice of Disagreement), and elected the Hearing docket. A hearing was held in January 2025 before a Veterans Law Judge, and a transcript of the hearing has been associated with the claims file. Therefore, the Board may only consider the evidence of record at the time the AOJ issued the January 2021 rating decision on appeal, as well as any evidence presented by the Veteran or his representative during the hearing or within 90 days following the hearing. If evidence was submitted either (1) during the period after the AOJ issued the decision on appeal and prior to the Board hearing, or (2) more than 90 days following the hearing, the Board did not consider it in its decision. 38 C.F.R. §§ 20.300, 20.302(a), 20.801. The issue of entitlement to service connection for sinusitis The Veteran contends that he suffers from sinusitis incurred in active service, specifically due to his time in ranger school. See December 2019 VA Form 21-526EZ, Fully Developed Claim. Service connection may be granted for disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. Establishing service connection generally requires evidence of: (1) a current disability; (2) an in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship (nexus) between the claimed in-service disease or injury and the present disability. See, e.g., Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1166-67 (Fed. Cir. 2004). As to evidence of a current diagnosis, the Veteran has undergone VA treatment for his sinusitis. A May 2020 VA treatment record notes a diagnosis of chronic sinusitis. A private treatment record submitted in January 2025 notes that the Veteran is being treated for allergic rhinitis and chronic sinusitis. January 2025 VA records note ongoing treatment for chronic sinusitis with antibiotics. Additionally, an August 2020 VA examination notes the Veteran's diagnosis of acute sinusitis in March 1984. Thus, the Board finds the evidence weighs in favor of a finding of a current diagnosis. The Board next turns to evidence of the in-service event and nexus elements. To that end, the Board notes that the Veteran's March 1984 separation exam notes a complaint of sinusitis. In August 2020, the Veteran underwent a VA examination. The examiner conducted an in-person examination, reviewed the Veteran's claims file, and noted a diagnosis of acute sinusitis in March 1984. The Veteran reported a history of sinus infections that started during service and have continued to worsen since service, and reported receiving treatment from a private physician in 1985. In terms of symptoms, the Veteran reported constant daily headaches with nasal congestion. The examiner then opined that the Veteran's claimed sinusitis was less likely than not related to his service, because during service, the claimed condition was reported on the Veteran's separation examination, but there is no evidence of chronicity of care, and the Veteran's symptoms are subjective only. In January 2025, the Veteran was afforded a hearing with the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. The Veteran stated that he did not have this condition prior to service, and at his induction physical, he was in perfect health. The Veteran stated that his sinusitis began in service when he was going through ranger school in Fort Benning, during an unusually cold and rainy spring. He explained that he avoided going for treatment because he didn't want to have to begin ranger school again, but was eventually hospitalized, experienced a massive headache, and was later diagnosed with sinusitis. He further stated that at his next and final duty station, he complained of similar sinus symptoms, and they told him he had allergies. After service, the Veteran stated that he started developing sinusitis with some regularity, for which he sought treatment, and while initially this meant experiencing symptoms twice per year, it then progressed to being sick with sinusitis for 42 weeks out of the year, with treatment with antibiotics. The Veteran further contended that there have not been any breaks in time when he didn't have sinusitis, and that his symptoms have increased in frequency from twice a year directly after service to all the time in the last six or seven years. VA treatment records provide further support for this statement. In February 2020 VA treatment record, the Veteran reported a history of pneumonia, sinusitis, and bronchitis from ranger school. Furthermore, a May 2020 VA treatment record notes the Veteran's statement that he was experiencing three to four sinus or bronchial infections per year, typically treated with a course of steroids and antibiotics, with the pattern recurring over more than 20 years. In sum, the evidence establishes a current diagnosis of chronic sinusitis; service treatment records and the Veteran's competent and credible hearing testimony confirm the Veteran first began experiencing his chronic sinusitis during service; and the evidence also supports a finding that his symptoms have persisted and worsened consistently since service. The Board acknowledges that the August 2020 VA examiner opined that there was no evidence of chronicity of care and that the Veteran's symptoms were subjective only; however, the examiner did not explain why they were discounting the Veteran's statements about chronicity of symptoms during and after service. Furthermore, there is evidence in the record that the Veteran's symptoms are not subjective only. See January 2025 private treatment record (noting that the Veteran's sinus inflammation is confirmed by a CT scan of the sinuses). Therefore, the Board affords this opinion no probative weight. See Nieves-Rodriguez v. Peake, 22 Vet. App. 295, 301 (2008) (noting that the probative value of a medical opinion derives from the factually accurate, fully articulated, sound reasoning for the conclusion). The Board also notes that the Veteran's March 1984 service treatment record indicates a lay statement from the Veteran that he has experienced hay fever and sinusitis since childhood. However, given that the Veteran's entrance exam did not note a history of sinusitis, and that in his hearing testimony, the Veteran stated that he first began experiencing his sinusitis symptoms after his incident and hospitalization in service, the Board affords the Veteran the benefit of the doubt and finds that his symptoms first had their onset in service. Based on the foregoing, the Board finds that the Veteran's claim for service connection for chronic sinusitis must be granted. Marcus N. Fulton Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Marshall, J. 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.