Migraines & headaches decisions — 2011

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded to obtain additional medical records and to schedule a VA examination. The issues of entitlement to service connection will be readjudicated after these actions.

The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for PTSD, right ear hearing loss, tinnitus, gastrointestinal condition secondary to PTSD, back disability, skin condition on chest, back and arms, migraine headaches, and eye condition due to unresolved procedural issues.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed sinusitis and headaches are not related to service, including a tooth extraction in service. The VA examiners found no current evidence of chronic sinusitis or any related condition evidenced in service.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded to obtain additional medical evidence and a VA examination to determine the current severity of his lumbar spine disorder, including any associated neurological symptoms such as headaches and neuropathy. The Veteran also needs to provide information about all sources of treatment for his back condition since 2007.

The Board denied the appellant's claims for increased ratings for healed stress fractures of both tibia, as well as his service connection claims for sinus disability and headaches. The appeals were not about service connection at all.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including frequent headaches, neuropathy in the lower extremities, and retinopathy, make him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation. The Board grants a TDIU based on these conditions.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for residuals of a head injury with headaches and depressive disorder were denied. The Veteran's headaches have been rated as 30 percent disabling, which is the maximum schedular rating available under current criteria. His depressive disorder has not met the criteria for an initial rating in excess of 10 percent.

The appeal has been withdrawn by the appellant through his representative, and thus there are no specific issues to be decided.

The Board found that the Veteran's current diagnosis of residuals of traumatic brain injury, including headaches, is related to his service exposure to IED and other blasts. The decision grants service connection for these conditions.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for aches and joint pain, to include as due to an undiagnosed illness, and for migraines, to include as due to an undiagnosed illness. The evidence did not support these claims.

The Veteran's vertigo, skin disorder of the right arm, headaches, and hepatitis C were not incurred in or aggravated by active military service.,Service connection was denied for all claimed conditions.

The Veteran's service-connected migraine headaches were rated at 30 percent effective February 1, 2010. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating before or after this date.

The Veteran's posttraumatic headaches have worsened, and the evidence more nearly approximates characteristic prostrating attacks averaging once a month over the last several months beginning June 8, 2009. The Veteran is now rated at 30 percent for his service-connected posttraumatic headaches.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for additional medical examinations and records review. The issues of service connection for back disability, headaches, and erosive gastritis are pending.

The Veteran's appeal was denied for service connection on the merits. The RO found that there was no evidence to support the claimed conditions and that the existing evidence did not meet the criteria for a compensable rating for hearing loss.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's residuals of left parietal meningioma are service-connected due to exposure to carbon tetrachloride during his military service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for residuals of a head injury, migraine headaches, and seizure disorder. The effective date for the grant of service connection for migraine headaches was set at October 5, 2009.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including restless leg syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, sleep disturbances, headaches, hyperlipidemia/hypercholesterolemia, hypothyroidism, and Epstein-Barr virus are denied as the evidence does not support a finding of a current disability due to service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings were denied as there was no earlier formal or informal claim for the conditions listed.,An effective date of January 16, 1951 is granted for service connection for headaches.

The Veteran's schizophrenia is rated at 30 percent, but the Board found no evidence of more than occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks. The claims for PTSD, IBS, migraines, joint pain, and chronic fatigue syndrome with insomnia were not addressed as they are being remanded.