Migraines & headaches decisions — 2012

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to address the Veteran's claims for service connection, including obtaining medical opinions regarding the etiology of his claimed conditions and reviewing all relevant treatment records.

The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss with a 10% disability rating, effective April 19, 2007. The Veteran's other claims were denied.

The Board has determined that the appellant's character of discharge from service is not a bar to VA benefits, and therefore grants his appeal seeking to establish this point.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not preclude gainful employment consistent with his education and occupational experience. Therefore, the claim for a TDIU is denied.

The Veteran's appeal is being returned to the RO for further development and consideration of his increased rating claim for migraine headaches, as well as his service connection claim for PTSD. The Veteran will be provided a new VA examination for his headache disorder and his outstanding VA treatment records will be obtained.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including scheduling another VA examination to assess the current severity of his service-connected headaches associated with PTSD. The case will be reviewed and readjudicated after this additional development.

The Veteran's migraine headaches, depression, and residuals of a fracture of the left middle finger were evaluated. Migraine headaches received a 10% rating from October 16, 2005 to December 15, 2005; depression was rated at 10%; and residuals of the fracture did not meet criteria for any compensable evaluation.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining VA and SSA records, scheduling examinations to determine the nature and likely etiology of the Veteran's right shoulder, headache, and sleep disorders, and readjudicating the claims.

The Board has granted service connection for heart disease, but denied service connection for sleep apnea and headaches due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to service or exposure to herbicides.

The Board found that the Veteran's claimed residuals of a head injury, including headaches and numbness, were not incurred in or aggravated by service.

The Veteran's TBI residuals, including headaches and cognitive impairment, are currently evaluated as 10 percent disabling since October 23, 2008. The claim for an evaluation in excess of 10 percent prior to that date is denied.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for chronic headaches, finding that his pre-existing tension headaches did not worsen during active duty and were unrelated to any in-service symptoms. The Veteran's current complaints of migraine headaches are also not related to his in-service tension headaches.

The Veteran's current headache disability is causally related to active duty service and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's headache disorder did not manifest during, or as a result of, active military service and the preponderance of evidence does not support a finding that it was aggravated by such service. As such, service connection for this condition is denied.

The Board is remanding the case to obtain additional treatment records from Walter Reed Army Medical Center for the period January 1, 1957 to March 13, 1958. The Veteran's claim will be readjudicated based on this new evidence.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional development and consideration of new evidence, including statements from the appellant and additional medical records.

The Board has denied the appellant's claims for service connection for headaches claimed as secondary to TMJ derangement with chronic arthritis and a separate evaluation for nerve impairment secondary to right ankle injury due to her failure to appear for scheduled VA examinations.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for hypertension, migraine headaches, and allergic rhinitis with a history of sinusitis were denied. The Board found no evidence of hypertension in service or within one year after separation from active duty. For migraine headaches, the criteria for a compensable rating were not met between February 1, 2005 and January 5, 2009, but from January 6, 2009, a 30% evaluation was granted. For allergic rhinitis with a history of sinusitis, a 10% evaluation was granted from February 1, 2005 to February 4, 2008, and no higher rating is warranted after that date.

The Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability is granted with a 60 percent evaluation, and his claims for cervical spine disorder and headache disorder are also granted.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims due to insufficient development of evidence, particularly regarding his service connection and rating for left knee disabilities. The appeal is not about service connection at all.