Migraines & headaches decisions — 2023

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of migraine headaches was denied as the claim to reopen his previously denied claim was received on May 11, 2018.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for asthma, hand disabilities, knee disabilities, ankle disabilities, and migraines due to inadequate medical opinions. The AOJ is instructed to verify all periods of active service, ACDUTRA, and INACDUTRA and associate any outstanding records with the claims file. Addendum VA examinations are required to address the etiology of the Veteran's asthma, hand, knee, ankle, and migraine disabilities.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection for recurrent sleep disability (obstructive sleep apnea) and recurrent headache disability (migraine) should be remanded due to a lack of a contemporaneous medical examination.

The Veteran's claims of service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, as well as his initial compensable evaluations for deviated nasal septum and tension headaches, were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a nexus between these conditions and active duty service.

The Veteran's migraine headaches are granted a higher rating of 50% from April 27, 2019 to October 21, 2019. Other conditions have been granted service connection with effective dates ranging from January 11, 2012 to October 21, 2019.

The Veteran's initial claim for a 70 percent evaluation for service-connected unspecified anxiety disorder was granted. The Board also found that the Veteran's migraine headache disorder claim should be remanded.

The Board denied service connection for left shoulder, cervical spine, right eye, and headaches disabilities due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to the Veteran's active service or any service-connected disability.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied as there is no current diagnosis of a disability.,The earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for tinnitus prior to July 9, 2018, is denied due to lack of evidence showing an increase in severity within one year prior to the claim.,The earlier effective date for the increased rating of the headache disability prior to July 9, 2018, is denied as there is no evidence of an ascertainable increase in severity within one year prior to the claim.,The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 30 percent for her headache disability is denied.

An effective date of October 3, 2017, is granted for an initial rating of 50 percent for bilateral pes planus. Service connection for headaches as secondary to a neck disability is also granted.

The Veteran's prostate cancer claim is remanded due to potential exposure to Camp Lejeune contaminated water and asbestos at the Marine Corps Reserve Training Center in Middlesex, NJ.,Head injury residuals and headaches claims are both remanded as new evidence suggests these conditions may be related to INACDUTRA service.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for allergic rhinitis, conjunctivitis, heart disability, skin disability (tinea manus), headaches, and vertigo due to inadequate development and failure to provide proper notice regarding fees for obtaining medical records.

The Veteran's PTSD with alcohol use disorder in sustained remission and residuals of TBI are granted at a 70 percent evaluation effective from January 23, 2023. The issue of entitlement to an increased evaluation for sinus headaches is denied. The Veteran is also granted TDIU prior to January 7, 2020.

The Veteran's hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea, and headache disorder are found to be due to his service-connected PTSD. The chronic back disorder is denied as there is no evidence of a chronic condition during active service.

The Board has remanded four issues: initial compensable ratings for migraine headaches, cervical strain, and thoracolumbar strain; and service connection for benign neoplasm of the skin. The Veteran is to be provided another examination for these claims.

The Veteran is granted an Extraschedular TDIU from January 30, 2001 to December 19, 2002 due to his service-connected disabilities preventing him from securing and maintaining substantially gainful employment.

The Board has dismissed all claims related to service connection and rating determinations for various conditions, including loss of smell, migraine disability, left foot pes planus, PTSD with TBI, respiratory disability, popping of fingers, and back disability. The Veteran did not have a diagnosed back disability during the appeal period.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings and service connection have been dismissed as the appellant has withdrawn her appeal on all issues.

The Board has found pre-decisional duty to assist errors and the claims are remanded for further development, including VA examinations and TDIU evaluation.

The Board has granted service connection for headaches and remanded the remaining issues due to lack of evidence.

The Veteran's posttraumatic headaches are granted service connection as secondary to his service-connected traumatic brain injury (TBI), effective December 13, 2011.