What can I claim secondary to allergic rhinitis?
3 conditions in the Repatriation Medical Authority's Statements of Principles list allergic rhinitis as a factor. If DVA has accepted your allergic rhinitis, each of these has a documented pathway to a further claim.
At a glance
- Accepted conditionAllergic rhinitis
- Conditions it may open3
- SourceRMA SoPs
- Chart Review$600 + GST
How a secondary claim works
Some Statement of Principles factors are not about service at all — they name another condition. Where DVA has already accepted your allergic rhinitis, and another condition's SoP lists allergic rhinitis as a factor, that part of the next claim is already established on your file. How a secondary claim works, in full →
Conditions that list allergic rhinitis as a factor
Quoted from the instrument. A pathway existing is not the same as a claim succeeding — each factor carries thresholds your record has to satisfy.
Anosmia
RH No. 19 of 2021 · BoP No. 20 of 2021
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (2): “having perennial allergic rhinitis for at least the two years before the clinical onset of anosmia” [clinical onset]
Balance of Probabilities — factor (2): “having perennial allergic rhinitis for at least the five years before the clinical onset of anosmia” [clinical onset]
Note: perennial allergic rhinitis is defined in the Schedule 1 - Dictionary.
Otitis media
RH No. 62 of 2022 · BoP No. 63 of 2022
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (3): “having allergic rhinitis or sinusitis within the 7 days before the clinical onset of otitis media” [clinical onset] — factor (18): “having allergic rhinitis or sinusitis within the 7 days before the clinical worsening of otitis media” [worsening]
Balance of Probabilities — factor (3): “having allergic rhinitis or sinusitis within the 7 days before the clinical onset of otitis media” [clinical onset] — factor (15): “having allergic rhinitis or sinusitis within the 7 days before the clinical worsening of otitis media” [worsening]
Sinus barotrauma
RH No. 23 of 2019 · BoP No. 24 of 2019
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (5): “having allergic rhinitis or sinusitis within the 24 hours before the clinical onset of sinus barotrauma” [clinical onset] — factor (10): “having allergic rhinitis or sinusitis within the 24 hours before the clinical worsening of sinus barotrauma” [worsening]
Balance of Probabilities — factor (5): “having allergic rhinitis or sinusitis within the 24 hours before the clinical onset of sinus barotrauma” [clinical onset] — factor (10): “having allergic rhinitis or sinusitis within the 24 hours before the clinical worsening of sinus barotrauma” [worsening]
Other accepted conditions that also open anosmia
If any of these is also on your file, it reaches some of the same conditions allergic rhinitis does.
What DVA means by allergic rhinitis
A claim is tested against the definition first. If the diagnosis on your file does not meet this wording, the factors below never get reached — so it is worth checking that what your doctor wrote matches what the instrument requires.
Allergic rhinitis, for the purposes of the Statement of Principles, for the purposes of this Statement of Principles, allergic rhinitis: (a) means symptomatic inflammation of the nasal mucosa associated with allergen exposure and mediated by an immunoglobulin E (IgE) allergic response; and (b) includes: (i) intermittent (seasonal) allergic rhinitis; (ii) local allergic rhinitis; (iii) occupational allergic rhinitis; and (iv) persistent (perennial) allergic rhinitis; and (c) excludes: (i) allergic fungal rhinosinusitis; (ii) eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis; (iii) non-allergic rhinitis; and (iv) vasomotor rhinitis.
Aggravation-only factors. In this instrument, subsections 9(3) apply only to material contribution to, or aggravation of, allergic rhinitis where it was already present before or during service. If service caused allergic rhinitis outright, those factors are not available to you.
RH No. 111 of 2022 · BoP No. 112 of 2022 · 4 factors
Reviewed by Dr Thomas Perkins
Founding doctor, Veterans Health Centre · former RAAF aviation medical officer · 13 years working exclusively with ADF members and veterans. Full profile →
Allergic rhinitis accepted?
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