Rhinitis-Sinusitis

[cooter]

I was diagnosed possible Rhinitis in the service back in 1972. I went to a ENT specialist last week and diagnosed with septal deviation and chronic sinusitis. Their doing a sleep study next week and an allergy test in 2 weeks. My nose feels like Hoover Dam when they release the water.ha. Here's my questions;

Once your diagnosed, like me in 72. Can VA come back and say it was only temperary?

Is Rhinitis, sinusitis, and allergies rated as one?

Are there any secondary problems that can be claimed for this?

Thanks!!!

[cooter]

Most the time I use the BVA cite. However, when I have multilpe search terms I use google. I type in "citation NR" and search. This gives me VA cases that google has indexed. Then I use search within a search which is at the bottom of the google page. Then I typed "sinusitis is granted" in to google. That gives me the winners. I was planning on using one more search within a search for purulent. However, I found this case on the first page of the results. The whole project took less than fifteen minutes.

I am also good at catching trout in the ocean. I used to fish off the Malibu Pier. I caught and landed a steelhead from the pier. That is really rare. I also hooked a whale from the pier. It just happened to swim by my line and got snagged. Unfortunatley, or better yet fortunately it just swam away and broke my line.

I didn't realize a steelhead was a trout! ha We in Arizona are still waiting for California to sink from an earthquake so we can have ocean front property!!!

[vaf]

If you have a copy of your entrance physical that shows you did not have a deviated septum upon entering the service, and a separation physical that shows you did in fact acquire a deviated septum, I would argue that you may not need evidence of trauma to your nose, that the exam results would be adequate. The reason I say this is due to the fact that no one goes running to the doctor every time they get hit in the face while playing sports, accidentally falling while running, etc., however, those entrance and separation physicals speak volumes!

I worked with a veteran who entered the Army with no record of deviated septum in his entrance physical, no record of it on his separation physical, no record of it on his subsequent entrance physical for the USAF, but several years later, it showed up in his separation physical from the USAF. The VA tried to argue that the deviated septum was congenital, not acquired. Without formal evidence of trauma, we appealed that and won service connection at 0%. I think an internet search would show a clinical connection between deviated septum and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (which I'm assuming is the purpose of the sleep study you've scheduled), however, it would be much more useful to get an ENT physician to perform an evaluation and say as much. Likewise on the relationship between sinusitis and sleep apnea.

[Stretch]

I was awarded back to 2002:

Deviated Nasal Septum (granted 0%..1985)

Sinusitis associated with taumatic deviated nasal septum.........10%

Rhinitis associated with tramuatic deviated nasal septum..........10%

Headaches associated with traumatic deviated nasal septum...10%

One of the cases you might see is mine..

When I got out it took me a few years to save up the money to get the operation on my nose, as the VA wouldn't even look at it...I looked up the original doctor who performed my surgery in 1975.

I figured he must be in his eighties, but I went on looking for him anyway..I found the Doctor, he was still working, and he remembered my case and his work...This doctor was an ENT that worked in conjunction with a Dentist to repair service injuries related to my teeth and nose..This ENT doctor did the IME/IMO that I submitted..

They are separate ratings...

Forgot to say that I had a proven service nose injuries, backed with eye witnesses...

Edited September 7, 2010 by Stretch

[stillhere]

In a claim like this with so many years between the events of the disease. Even though something is in your SMR's it is always better when you can show some kind of treatment for the condition that is continuous.

I had in my SMR's a doc's notes where I was seen for stomach problems and prescribed a acid reducing pill. Now ever since I have been in Nam I have had problems with my stomach and have taken antacid pills most of my life over the counter. Like Tums, pep-to bismal and just about anything that was on the market.

I have not filed for this because I have NO doc's notes or anything for treatments since 69. Now I might be able to win this claim but I would bet it would have to go to NOD and probably BVA for any kind of approval,

I just do not have the stomach (pun intended) for it.

Good luck on your claim! JMHO

[Hoppy]

Stillhere,

I do not mean to sound adversarial. However, I refrain from making generalizations about medical conditions. Each claim with long periods of time between the military and the first post service treatment are very different. I have made this statement on hadit on several occasions. Continuity of symptoms after discharge is a medical determination that is to be made by a doctor based on the individual merits of each diagnosis. Comparing undiagnosed stomach ailments to a condition that was specifically diagnosed including detailed notations of observable symptoms which included purulent nasal discharge is like comparing apples to oranges. I am not saying that your generalization is anywhere near as obvious as an over site as a VSO who use to post on hadit. To your credit you do say that it is better to get medical statements showing continuity.

I do not even like to give the impression that a claim will be more difficult without continuity of treatment. It is purely a medical determination that can only be made by a doctor who has reviewed the entire medical history. My angioedema claim was awarded 30 years after my discharge because a immunologist write an opinion that my symptoms first occurred in the military and there was no known cure. The issue of how many years went by between the military and my first post service treatment was never addressed in the decision. It just so happened that it was nine years.

There was a very knowledgeable VSO that posted on hadit who use to give really good advice about how the VA adjudicates claims and the procedures for advancing claims. However, he had a habit of playing doctor and on several occasions he specifically told people that they could not win their claim because too much time went by since the military and their first post service treatment. In one claim where the VSO told the veteran too much time went by after the military it involved a knee injury that was identical to my knee claim. I was service connected even though the first post service treatment was ten years after discharge. The VSO had never seen any diagnoses, reports or xray’s from the military for the veteran that he told that he could not get service connected.

My knee claim was awarded a rating even though I had no treatment for ten years after the military. What is funny is that I did not even specifically ask for a disability rating. It did not occur to me that I was disabled at the time I filed the claim. I filed the claim before the surgery and figured the surgery would fix the problem. I asked for a post surgical covalence rating for one month. The DAV told me to throw in the phrase when I filed the claim that “I was applying for any and all benefits available to me”. I figured the VA should give me a covalence rating because a doctor had told me in the military that I would need surgery at a later time to fix my knee. He did not even write in my SMR that surgery would be required at a later date. However, there was a diagnosis made at that time by the military doctor and observable symptoms were noted. 10 years later the VA surgery was exploratory and they did not find any significant structural changes. The VA took it upon them to award a 10% rating based on the symptomology.

One last thought is to consider that your statements in the absence of medical treatment can be given weight as shown in the case below.

The Veteran had active service from April 1974 to March 1975. 4. Private medical records reveal that the Veteran was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease in approximately 1984 and that he continues to have symptoms of low back pain. 5. VA medical opinions dated April 2007 and July 2008, relate the Veteran's current low back disability to active service.

The veteran reports a continuity of symptomatology of low back pain and discomfort dating from service. He is competent to testify as to these easily identifiable symptoms of low back pain. Espiritu v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 492 (1992); see also, Washington v. Nicholson, 19 Vet App 362 (2005), citing Layno v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 465, 469-71 (1994) (holding that lay testimony is competent if it is limited to matters that the witness has actually observed and is within the realm of the witness' personal knowledge).

[stillhere]

I agree Hoppy,

But I do like to let vets know what they could and will be probably in for with the VA.

He has to be made aware of that also. Just like the case from the BVA you posted. I wonder how many others like that made it to the BVA and were denied??

A disabled veteran that comes here for advice on their claim should be able to get some honest opinions and that is what I gave.

As far as comparing me to a VSO I personally don't see where that comes into play. Unless you are trying to discredit my opinion for some reason?

When I first came to Hadit I soon after also joined another veteran board and between the two I often got conflicting results. I thanked them for both and went with what I thought would work for me.