Migraines & headaches decisions — 2013

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of a head injury, including headaches, memory loss, and impaired concentration, finding no medical relationship between these symptoms and any incident in service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities make him unemployable, and thus grants an extraschedular TDIU.

The Veteran withdrew her appeal for a rating in excess of 20 percent for cervical degenerative disc disease with neck strain from appeal.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining Reserve service records and requesting an opinion from a VA clinician regarding the appellant's cervical spine disorder and headaches.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to incomplete copies of VA examinations. The Veteran's claim will be reconsidered based on all available evidence.

The Veteran's service connection claim for residual headaches from a head injury sustained in service is granted. The issue of service connection for residual scars from the same head injury is also addressed and found to be supported by evidence.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including post concussion syndrome with headaches and dizziness, disfiguring forehead scarring, PTSD, and left knee disability, do not render him unemployable due to their combined effect.

The Board found that the Veteran's service-connected migraine headaches more closely approximated characteristic prostrating attacks occurring on average once a month, warranting a 50% disability rating.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for residuals of a left foot fracture, cervical spine disorder, lumbar spine disorder, and migraine headaches are being remanded due to the need for additional development.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for a headache disorder and an initial, compensable disability rating for partial tongue numbness were denied. The Board found no evidence of current chronic conditions that would support the claims.

The Board has ordered the case to be remanded for further development, including obtaining SSA records and scheduling a VA examination.

The Veteran's appeal for a higher initial rating for service-connected hypertension has been granted, with the disability rated at 20 percent. The issue of entitlement to TDIU due to service-connected disability remains pending.

The Veteran's service connection claims for depressive disorder and chronic headaches of the migraine type have been granted.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of entitlement to an effective date prior to January 24, 2005 for the grant of service connection for a right shoulder disability and his claims of service connection for headaches and a cervical spine disorder. The Board found that the Veteran did not submit a claim before January 24, 2005, which is when he filed his petition to reopen his previously denied claim. The Board also determined that there was no evidence linking the current conditions to his military service.

The Board found that the Veteran's neck disability, degenerative joint disease and degenerative disk disease of the lumbar spine, and headaches were not incurred in or aggravated during service and are not related to his service-connected reflex sympathetic dystrophy.

The Veteran's service connection claims for headaches, chills/fever, and tiredness have been denied. However, the Veteran has established service connection for atypical chest pain as an undiagnosed illness.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development of his treatment records and for a new C&P examination to determine the current severity of his posttraumatic headaches.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen the Veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder. The VA examinations are needed to determine the etiology of his right knee disorder, left knee disorder, hypertension, headaches, and all diagnosed psychiatric disorders.

The Board has determined that there is no evidence of a link between the Veteran's current knee, foot, or headache disabilities and his active service. The claims for these conditions are therefore denied.

The Veteran's appeal was withdrawn regarding the claims of entitlement to an evaluation in excess of 40 percent for the lumbar strain and entitlement to an effective date prior to January 8, 2008 for the award of the increased 40 percent rating for the lumbar strain. The Board also found that his allergic rhinitis did not meet criteria for a compensable evaluation since March 10, 2006, and his bilateral hearing loss was not compensably rated at any time during this period.