Damage to the blood vessels in the retina caused by diabetes.
If you are pursuing a rating based on incapacitating episodes, the most important records are those that document each clinic visit made specifically for treatment of your eye condition within the past 12 months. Treatment records showing intravitreal injections, laser procedures, surgical interventions, or visits for immunosuppressant or biologic therapy directly support the visit count at each level. Dates of each visit matter, because the thresholds are 1, 3, 5, and 7 visits.
If you are pursuing a rating based on visual impairment, records from an ophthalmologist or optometrist showing measured visual acuity and visual field results are central. These measurements are compared against the tables in 38 CFR 4.75–4.78.
Statements from you or people who know you about how reduced vision or treatment visits affect your ability to work, drive, read, or manage daily tasks can help fill in the picture of your functional loss, particularly where clinical records do not fully reflect your day-to-day experience.
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.
