Migraines & headaches decisions — 2000

The Board has granted service connection for headaches and right knee injury with arthroscopic repair, both rated at 10 percent. The veteran's headaches are productive of chronic daily pain requiring medication for relief, while his right knee disability is manifested by patellofemoral pain syndrome with mild degenerative changes.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for higher initial evaluations for post traumatic headaches, residuals of a left (minor) little finger fracture, and residuals of laparotomy with liver laceration. The appeals were based on service-connected conditions.

The Board has remanded the veteran's claims due to insufficient development of evidence, particularly regarding his headaches and their treatment at the Emergency Room. The veteran is requested to provide more details about these treatments.

The Board has denied reopening claims for service connection for various conditions, including back disability, dizziness, and eye disabilities. The evidence received since the 1976 decisions is not considered new and material to reopen these claims.

The Board has determined that the claim of entitlement to service connection for PTSD is well grounded. The veteran's stressors during his Gulf War service are supported by evidence, and a VA examination will be arranged to determine if he meets the criteria for PTSD.

The Board has reopened the claim of secondary service connection for a low back disorder due to new and material evidence submitted since March 1982.,The claim is considered well-grounded as it relates the cause of the current low back disability to the veteran's service-connected migraine headache disorder.

The veteran's headaches are found to be service-connected.

The Board denied the appellant's claims of service connection for lumbar spine, cervical spine, headache, urinary, and brain disorders due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, left knee disorder, headaches, and tinnitus are well-grounded. However, due to a lack of medical evidence linking these conditions to service or any incident therein, the claims have been denied.

The Board has granted a 30 percent rating for headaches and found that the appellant's hypertension warrants an increased rating. The claim for service connection of a vision disorder is also granted, but no effective date was assigned as it is based on new evidence.

The veteran's claim for service connection for his symptoms due to an undiagnosed illness is being remanded for additional development, including a hematologic examination and clarification of the relationship between chronic fatigue syndrome and the veteran's claimed conditions.

The Board denied a compensable original disability rating for chronic headaches as the medical evidence did not show characteristic prostrating attacks of migraine headaches averaging one in two months over the last several months.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including right and left shoulder disabilities, a back disability, ulcers, and headaches. The RO previously denied these claims on multiple occasions without the submission of new and material evidence.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for respiratory disease, retropatellar pain syndrome, residuals of a head injury, and headaches. The claim for PTSD is granted.

The Board found no evidence of chronic conditions related to service for the claimed disabilities and thus denied all claims.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for gastrointestinal bleeding, hypertension, bilateral knee replacement, diabetes mellitus, and headaches. The evidence did not establish a direct link between these conditions and his military service.

The veteran's service-connected chronic recurrent headaches are rated as 10 percent disabling. The Board finds that the evidence does not support a higher rating due to lack of prostrating attacks characteristic of migraines.

The Board has determined that the appellant's claims for service connection for defective hearing, tinnitus, residuals of a head injury, headaches, and residuals of a left lower extremity injury are not well-grounded as there is no competent evidence showing these conditions had their onset during or were otherwise related to military service.

The Board has ordered a new medical opinion and remanded the case for further development, including reviewing all relevant evidence to determine if service connection should be granted for tension headaches.

The veteran's claim for an increased initial rating for his headaches, currently evaluated as 10 percent disabling, has been denied by the Board of Veterans' Appeals.