Persistent inflammation of the maxillary sinuses located in the cheekbones.
Medical records that count and describe your episodes are central to separating one rating level from another. Records showing each visit to a physician, the prescribed antibiotic, and how long the course of treatment lasted help establish whether episodes meet the four-to-six-week threshold for incapacitating episodes. Notes documenting that you required bed rest and physician-directed care during an episode directly address the regulatory definition of an incapacitating episode.
For higher ratings, operative reports and pathology records documenting radical sinus surgery and any resulting osteomyelitis would be relevant. Imaging such as X-rays, CT scans, or endoscopy findings can show the presence and severity of sinus disease, including crusting or discharge. For a 0% rating, imaging alone without documented symptoms may be all that exists.
Statements from you or people who know you describing how often you experience headaches, facial pain, nasal discharge, or crusting, and how those episodes affect your ability to work or carry out daily activities, can help show the frequency and character of non-incapacitating episodes.
Conditions that are often caused or made worse by this one. If you have any of these, they may be claimable as secondary service connection.
