What can I claim secondary to sinus barotrauma?
1 condition in the Repatriation Medical Authority's Statements of Principles list sinus barotrauma as a factor. If DVA has accepted your sinus barotrauma, each of these has a documented pathway to a further claim.
At a glance
- Accepted conditionSinus barotrauma
- Conditions it may open1
- 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 sinus barotrauma, and another condition's SoP lists sinus barotrauma 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 sinus barotrauma 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.
Trigeminal neuralgia or trigeminal neuropathy
RH No. 84 of 2024 · BoP No. 85 of 2024
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (1): “having maxillary, sphenoid or frontal sinus barotrauma involving the affected trigeminal nerve, within the 3 months before clinical onset or clinical worsening of trigeminal neuropathy” [onset and worsening]
Balance of Probabilities — factor (1): “having maxillary, sphenoid or frontal sinus barotrauma involving the affected trigeminal nerve, within the 3 months before clinical onset or clinical worsening of trigeminal neuropathy” [onset and worsening]
Other accepted conditions that also open trigeminal neuralgia or trigeminal neuropathy
If any of these is also on your file, it reaches some of the same conditions sinus barotrauma does.
What DVA means by sinus barotrauma
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.
Sinus barotrauma, for the purposes of the Statement of Principles, for the purposes of this Statement of Principles, sinus barotrauma means an injury to a paranasal sinus arising from inequalities in the barometric pressure between the surrounding atmosphere and the air within the sinus cavity.
Aggravation-only factors. In this instrument, subsections 9(6) to 9(11) apply only to material contribution to, or aggravation of, sinus barotrauma where it was already present before or during service. If service caused sinus barotrauma outright, those factors are not available to you.
RH No. 23 of 2019 · BoP No. 24 of 2019 · 11 factors
What could support a claim for sinus barotrauma?
The Statement of Principles for sinus barotrauma names 1 other condition among its own factors. If any of these is already accepted on your file, it may be the factor that carries a sinus barotrauma claim — quoted here from the instrument.
Allergic rhinitis
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (5): “having allergic rhinitis or sinusitis within the 24 hours before the clinical onset of sinus barotrauma” [clinical onset]
Reasonable Hypothesis — factor (10): “having allergic rhinitis or sinusitis within the 24 hours before the clinical worsening of sinus barotrauma” [worsening]
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 →
Sinus barotrauma accepted?
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