Migraines & headaches

Migraines and chronic headaches are treated by the VA as a neurological condition. To get "service connection," the basic rule is that the evidence must show the disease or injury that causes your disability started during your military service, or got worse because of it. This can be shown directly, or through special presumptive rules. Many veterans also link headaches to another service-connected problem (like a head injury), which is called secondary service connection.

The VA rates migraines under diagnostic code 8100 in its rating schedule. The percentage depends on how often you get "prostrating" attacks (attacks so bad you have to stop what you're doing and lie down) and how much they affect your ability to work. The 50% level is for very frequent, completely prostrating and prolonged attacks that cause severe economic problems. The 30% level is for prostrating attacks that happen on average once a month over the last several months, and 10% is for prostrating attacks averaging about one every two months. Less frequent attacks are rated at 0%.

There is also an exposure pathway for some Gulf War veterans. Under the VA's rules for Persian Gulf veterans, headache is specifically listed as a sign or symptom that can be part of an "undiagnosed illness" or a medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illness. For this pathway, the disability generally must appear during qualifying service in the Southwest Asia theater, or reach at least a 10% level by December 31, 2026, and cannot be tied to a known diagnosis. This route can ease the usual burden of proving a direct link to service.

A denial is a starting point, not the end, and your evidence and headache history matter to how the VA applies these rules. This is educational information only — it is not legal advice or a VA decision.