Migraines & headaches decisions — 2014

The Board finds that the Veteran's headaches are likely due to an injury sustained during service, and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for migraine headaches in February 2009. The RO has now declined to reopen this claim, finding that no new and material evidence has been submitted.

The Board denied service connection for right ear hearing loss, residuals of a head tumor (pituitary adenoma), memory loss secondary to residuals of a head tumor, blindness of the right eye secondary to residuals of a head tumor, and headaches. The decision is based on lack of evidence linking these conditions to service.

The Board found that the Veteran's service records do not show any findings, complaints, symptoms or diagnoses of traumatic brain injury (TBI) or concussions. The presumption of soundness applies to TBI and concussions. The preponderance of evidence does not support a finding that the current residuals of a concussion are related to his period of active military service.

The Veteran's appeal has been withdrawn prior to the Board issuing a decision. The claims for service connection for a left great toe disability and increased ratings for various knee disabilities are dismissed.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and headaches are related to his military service, with the hearing loss likely due to noise exposure in service and the headaches potentially linked to a head injury during service. As such, these conditions have been granted service connection.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling examinations to assess the severity of his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's headaches are found to have onset during service and the Board grants service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain outstanding treatment records and conduct additional examinations. The claims for initial compensable rating for status post macroprolactinoma and an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for headaches will be readjudicated based on the evidence.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for headaches and vertigo, finding that these conditions are not related to his active duty service or service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's appeal was granted for some issues and denied or not addressed for others. The skin disorder claim was reopened, tension headaches were service connected, the eye injury residuals issue was withdrawn by the Veteran, TBI residuals are not service connected, right lumbar radiculopathy is service connected, and the neck scar disability has a 50% rating.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to schedule a Travel Board hearing at the Togus, Maine RO. The issues include increased evaluations for left wrist fracture and gastritis, service connection claims for sleep apnea, radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, hypertension, migraines, and weight gain.

The Veteran seeks service connection for migraine headaches as secondary to his service-connected eye disabilities. The Board has ordered additional development, including a new examination and opinion from the examiner who conducted the May 2010 VA examination.

The Veteran's PTSD is service-connected as a result of active duty during the Persian Gulf War. The right ankle disability has been granted, but no compensable rating was assigned.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including obtaining additional medical records and arranging for a new examination to assess his need for a powered mobility device.

The Veteran's service-connected tension headaches have been rated at 30 percent since June 1, 2010. The effective date for this rating is now set to June 1, 2010.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for acquired psychiatric disorder, PCT, migraine headaches, GERD, and fatty liver have been granted.

The Veteran's headaches were not rated higher than noncompensable prior to May 19, 2010. From May 19, 2010, the Veteran was granted a 50% rating for his headaches. The claim for an earlier effective date is denied.

The Board finds that the reduction from a 30 percent to a 10 percent rating for service-connected posttraumatic migraines was not proper, as the evidence does not show an actual improvement in the Veteran's condition.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss warrants a 20 percent rating. The claim for increased tinnitus was withdrawn by the Veteran prior to decision. Service connection for low back disability, headaches, knee disabilities, hypertension, and shoulder disabilities have been established based on continuity of symptomatology since service.