Migraines & headaches decisions — 2004

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development due to the poor quality of one cassette tape recording her testimony.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a psychiatric disability, an initial evaluation in excess of 30 percent for migraine headaches, and an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for acne vulgaris. The appeal was not about service connection for low back disorder.

The veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is granted. The Board finds that the veteran engaged in combat with the enemy and his lay testimony regarding the stressors he experienced during his service in Saudi Arabia is accepted as conclusive evidence of their occurrence.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to inadequate medical examinations and a need to obtain Social Security Administration records.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, warranting a total disability rating based on individual unemployability.

The veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection were denied. The Board found no evidence linking the veteran's current eye disability to his active military service.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, headaches, and a bilateral wrist condition due to lack of competent medical evidence supporting these conditions.

The veteran's claims for increased evaluations of tension headaches, right rhomboid muscle spasm, and left rhomboid muscle spasm were denied. The RO assigned a 30 percent evaluation for tension headaches, but did not address the other two conditions in their decision.

The Board has granted service connection for a cervical spine disorder, finding it was incurred during service. The claims for headaches, right eye disorder, and left leg disorder are remanded for further development.

The veteran's headaches were initially evaluated as noncompensable, but a May 2003 rating decision granted him a 10 percent evaluation effective October 29, 2004. The VA determined that the veteran's headaches warranted this increased evaluation based on their severity and frequency.

The Board has granted a 30 percent rating for the veteran's service-connected tension headaches, effective from the date of the decision.

The Board has determined that the veteran's bilateral hearing loss is of service origin and granted service connection for this condition.

The Board has remanded the case for further medical development and consideration due to conflicting expert opinions regarding the etiology of the veteran's claimed disabilities.

The Board found that the cause of death, ischemic cardiomyopathy, was not caused or contributed to by any service-connected disability. The veteran's other conditions were attributed to various non-service-related factors.

The veteran's service records show treatment for sinus congestion and headaches, but no chronic disability was found. The Board finds that the veteran does not have a current heart condition other than hypertension.,There is no evidence of a chronic heart condition or hypertension beginning during service.

The veteran's claims for service connection for an eye disorder and compensable evaluation for scars of the left eyebrow and chin prior to August 30, 2002 were denied. The claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for scars after August 30, 2002 was also denied.

The Board denied the veteran's claim to reopen his service connection for head injury residuals manifested by headaches, finding that new and material evidence had not been received.

The Board has remanded the veteran's claims due to additional development and consideration of new evidence.

The Board denied the appellant's applications to reopen previously denied claims of entitlement to service connection for schizophrenia, headaches, and PTSD. The evidence submitted was deemed insufficient to establish a medical nexus between these conditions and service.

The veteran's chronic headaches have been rated at 30 percent, reflecting the current severity of his condition.