Migraines & headaches decisions — 2014

The Veteran's headaches are related to his service-connected major depressive disorder with chronic anxiety features. The claims for sinusitis, unexplained weight gain and body inflammation, exhaustion, excessive sweating, skin disability, right foot and ankle disability, and bilateral knee disability were denied as there is no current diagnosis of these conditions.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions are denied as there is no competent medical evidence linking these conditions to his active military service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for allergies with headaches was denied as her symptoms are seasonal and other acute allergic manifestations subsiding on the absence of or removal of the allergen. The Board found that service connection is not warranted.

The Board finds that the Veteran's current hypertension and migraine headaches are not related to her military service or any service-connected disability. The evidence does not support a finding of direct service connection for these conditions.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for encephalocele with CSF rhinorrhea, diabetes mellitus, type II, sinus condition and/or headaches, finding no evidence of direct service connection or presumptive exposure to herbicides. The Veteran's claim for allergic rhinitis was granted.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claimed headaches and low back disability are not related to his active service, and thus denied these claims.

The Veteran's claim for an increased disability rating in excess of 10 percent for service-connected residuals of a head injury to include right eyebrow scar, soreness and headaches is being remanded due to the need for a new VA examination.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, residuals of a right ankle injury, blood clots of the right leg, migraines, hemoptysis (blood in sputum), and chondroma of the left ring finger. The decision was based on the lack of evidence linking these conditions to service or service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's cervical spine disorder and migraine headaches are found to be related to service, with the VA examiner providing a positive nexus opinion in favor of service connection.

The Veteran's posttraumatic headaches have been rated at 50% since May 21, 2002, due to their severe economic inadaptability.

The Board has granted service connection for migraines, TBI residuals including migraine headaches, and PTSD. The Veteran's claims are based on new evidence that was not previously considered.

The Veteran's headaches, deviated nasal septum, and sinusitis are all found to be related to his active service.

The Veteran's migraine headaches have been rated at 50 percent since the onset of her appeal, which is the maximum schedular rating available under Diagnostic Code 8100. The Veteran also has a 50 percent rating for each wrist due to De Quervain's tenosynovitis.

The Veteran's migraine headaches had onset in service and are found to be related to his active military service. The Board also finds that the Veteran's hypertension is at least as likely as not caused by or permanently aggravated by his service-connected PTSD, but it cannot determine if it was caused or aggravated by any other service-connected disability. The left shoulder disability is found to have onset in service and is considered secondary to a gunshot wound to the right shoulder.

The Veteran's claimed joint pains, muscle aches, fatigue, sleep disturbances, and headaches are not found to be due to an undiagnosed illness or a chronic multisymptom illness incurred during service. The symptoms have been attributed to known causes such as diabetes, aging, psychological disability, medication side effects, urinary frequency, degenerative joint disease, and other events after retirement from service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation of the face, chest and right ankle, chronic cough, and headaches as secondary to exposure to Agent Orange. The evidence did not relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate these claims.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for headaches and granted it, finding that there is sufficient evidence to link his current headache disorders (migraines and cluster headaches) to his in-service complaints of tension headaches.

The Board has granted service connection for sleep apnea effective June 1, 2005. The issue of entitlement to TDIU prior to August 30, 2012 is remanded due to inadequate opinions regarding the combined effect of all service-connected disabilities on employability.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current chronic migraine headache, cardiac disability, right ear hearing loss for VA purposes, or tinnitus related to active service. As such, the claims for service connection are denied.

The Board finds that the evidence is in equipoise as to whether the Veteran's current headaches are related to her military service, and thus grants service connection for headaches.