Migraines & headaches decisions — 2017

The Board has determined that the Veteran's migraines had their onset in service and granted service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have precluded her from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment consistent with her education and experience prior to July 31, 2009.

The Board has reopened the claims for service connection for PTSD and hepatitis C, but denied all other issues due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to service.

The Veteran's migraine headaches have been rated as 50 percent disabling since September 1, 2011. The Board finds that the evidence is in equipoise regarding whether this rating has been warranted.

The Board found that the Veteran's headaches, claimed as migraines or white foci of the brain, were not incurred in or related to his active service, including exposure to mustard gas.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, adjustment disorder with depressed mood, is rated at 30 percent since August 18, 2016. The Veteran's mild peripheral neuropathy of the medial plantar nerve in both lower extremities and migraine headaches are all rated as noncompensable.

The Veteran's overpayment debt for additional VA compensation benefits for her dependent spouse was granted, except for the period from April 2004 to October 2004 when she was not married.

The Board found that the reduction in the evaluation of service-connected lumbosacral strain from 20 percent to 10 percent was not proper and restored the prior rating. The Veteran's migraine headaches were not incurred or aggravated by active service.

The Board found that the Veteran's headache disorder did not have its onset in service and was not aggravated by active duty. The preexisting condition, which existed prior to service, is considered to be the cause of his current headaches.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have current residuals of a TBI other than headaches, and thus cannot establish service connection for decreased complex integrated cerebral function disturbance. The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not result in the anatomical loss or loss of use of both feet or one hand and one foot, or blindness in both eyes, or render him permanently bedridden or so helpless as to be in need of regular aid and attendance.

The Veteran's polycythemia vera is related to his service, as are the secondary conditions of fatigue, bone pain, dementia, major depression with anxiety, hypertension, transient ischemic attacks (TIA), heart failure, anemia, pre-syncope, renal insufficiency and headaches.,Osteoarthritis and disc degeneration of the cervical spine are also related to his service.

The Veteran's PTSD has aggravated her migraine headaches, and the Board grants service connection for MH as secondary to PTSD.

The Board found no evidence of a current disability related to hand numbness, upper respiratory tract symptoms, or headaches. The Veteran's claims for these conditions were denied.,For urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction, the VA examiner did not provide sufficient explanation regarding the presence of these disabilities and their relationship to service.

The Veteran withdrew his claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for specific phobias, diagnosed as claustrophobia and aquaphobia. The appeal is dismissed.

The Veteran's claimed headaches, memory and concentration problems, and muscle aches and pains are not related to his military service.,The Veteran does not have a diagnosed low back disorder.

The Board has determined that the Veteran does not have a current psychiatric disability other than PTSD, and therefore cannot establish service connection for any of her claimed conditions. The preponderance of evidence is against her claim.

The Board has remanded the case due to the Veteran not having responded to a request for a hearing. The case will be scheduled for a videoconference or travel board hearing before a member of the Board.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development and the need for a Statement of the Case on the issues of service connection for residuals of barbed wire injury and migraine headaches, as well as the TDIU claim.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to schedule a hearing at his local VA office due to his inability to travel to the Washington D.C. office.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him incapable of obtaining or maintaining substantially gainful employment, and the Board finds that he is entitled to a TDIU.