Migraines & headaches decisions — 2004

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to incomplete records and procedural issues.

The veteran's chronic fatigue syndrome is presumed to have been incurred in service. The appeal for an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for headaches and the evaluation of low back disability are granted.

The veteran's service-connected right knee disability is rated at 30% due to severe recurrent subluxation or lateral instability. The veteran's headaches are not considered a compensable rating under the applicable criteria.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including hearing loss, earaches, back disorder, fatigue, memory loss, joint pain, nervousness and dreams, weakness, skin rashes, chest pain, blurred vision, neck stiffness, and sinus symptoms as manifestations of an undiagnosed illness.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to new evidence received after an August 2002 rating decision.

The veteran's headaches were incurred during service and are considered a direct result of his military service. The VA has granted service connection for this condition, with a current rating of 20%.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining medical records and conducting VA examinations to determine diagnoses and etiology of the claimed conditions.

The RO denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluations for his service-connected retropatellofemoral syndrome of the right and left knees, pes planus, and migraine headaches.

The veteran's claim for an increased disability rating for service-connected headaches, currently rated at 50 percent, is being remanded due to procedural issues related to the Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000.

The veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need to obtain additional records and determine whether his current disabilities are related to service, including periods of active duty after separation from active duty in June 1970.

The Board has granted service connection for a headache disability, multiple shrapnel injuries with scars to the left arm, left leg, and left knee, and hepatitis. The veteran's headaches are found to be aggravated by his service-connected residuals of head injury. Multiple shrapnel injuries with scars were incurred during active duty. Hepatitis is presumed to have first manifested in service.

The Board has granted a 50 percent disability rating for the veteran's migraine headaches, finding that his very frequent and incapacitating migraines meet the criteria for this maximum schedular rating.

The Board has remanded the veteran's claims due to incomplete notification and development under the Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000 (VCAA). The RO is instructed to ensure all required notifications are provided, obtain relevant medical records, schedule a VA ENT examination, and review the claims for service connection and increased rating.

The Board has denied all service connection claims except for the reopened claim for a psychiatric disability. The veteran's other claims were not granted.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of April 1, 2000, for his total rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities. The RO assigned this effective date based on the veteran's last day of employment being March 31, 2000.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the receipt of new medical evidence after the issuance of the August 2003 Statement of the Case (SOC). The RO must review the entire record, including this new evidence, and issue an SSOC for readjudication.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current headache disorder, anxiety disorder, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus are all service-connected as they are linked to his inservice head injury.

The veteran's claim for service connection for an eye disability and a higher rating for headache residuals of a temporoparietal bone fracture was denied. The veteran is currently in receipt of the maximum disability rating assignable under the provisions of the rating schedule for headaches resulting from brain trauma.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim of service connection for a psychiatric disorder due to new evidence showing diagnoses of schizophrenia and depression. The claim for chronic headaches remains denied as there is no current diagnosis or link between any diagnosed condition and military service.

The Board found that the RO's initial grant of service connection for nicotine addiction and chronic bronchitis was clearly erroneous, and thus severed this service connection. The veteran does not have hypertension or heart disease related to military service or service-connected disability. He also does not have an acquired psychiatric disability, hearing loss, tinnitus, headaches, or dizziness that are related to military service.