Citation Nr: A24050471 Decision Date: 08/27/24 Archive Date: 08/27/24 DOCKET NO. 211113-197261 DATE: August 27, 2024 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB) is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran's PFB started during active service and continued to present. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria to establish service connection for PFB have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5103, 5103A, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from April 1998 to August 2000. The Veteran's claim was initially denied in a January 2021 rating decision. The Veteran filed a VA from 20-0996 in May 2021 seeking Higher-Level Review (HLR). The July 2021 HLR rating decision denied the claim. The Veteran timely appealed the July 2021 rating decision to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) and requested direct review of the evidence considered by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ). See November 2021 VA Form 10182. The Board may only consider the evidence of record at the time of the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) decision, which was subsequently subject to HLR. 38 C.F.R. § 20.301. If evidence was submitted during the period after the AOJ issued the decision, which was subsequently subject to HLR the Board did not consider it in its decision. 38 C.F.R. §§ 20.300, 20.301, 20.801. If the Veteran would like the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to consider any evidence that was submitted that the Board could not consider, the Veteran may file a Supplemental Claim (VA Form 20-0995) and submit or identify this evidence. 38 C.F.R. § 3.2501. If the evidence is new and relevant, VA will issue another decision on the claim, considering the new evidence in addition to the evidence previously considered. Id. Specific instructions for filing a Supplemental Claim are included with this decision. A veteran is entitled to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability compensation if there is a disability resulting from personal injury suffered or disease contracted in the line of duty in active service, or for aggravation of a preexisting injury suffered or disease contracted in the line of duty in active service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110. Generally, to establish a right to compensation for a present disability, a veteran must show: (1) a present disability; (2) an in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the present disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service, the so-called "nexus" requirement. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Service connection may be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge, when all of the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that a disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). The Veteran is diagnosed with PFB. See December 2020 VA examination report. The Veteran attributes his PFB to forced shaving during basic training. See May 2020 VA form 21-526EZ. The Veteran competently stated that he started getting bumps on his chin and jawline during service, which he still suffers with presently. Id. The Board finds the Veteran's statements credible. A fellow service member sent correspondence in July 2020 indicating the Veteran suffered from PFB symptoms during service as severe bumps due to daily shaving. Given the Veteran's competent and credible statements noting PFB symptoms which started during service and continued to present, backed by a fellow service member's statement, the Board finds that there is persuasive evidence of record establishing a link between the Veteran's PFB and service. Accordingly, the Board finds that a grant of service connection is warranted for PFB. See 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. DONNIE R. HACHEY Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Zheng, Associate Counsel 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.