Migraines & headaches decisions — 2023

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's claimed head injury and its relationship to his in-service fall. The Veteran is seeking service connection for residuals of a head injury, including migraines, memory loss, sleep impairment, and headaches.

The Veteran's migraine headaches are aggravated by his service-connected major depressive disorder, and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.

The Board has granted service connection for a dental disorder, to include loss of tooth #9, as a residual of facial trauma.,Service connection has also been granted for a sinus disorder secondary to the Veteran's dental disorder and headaches secondary to his dental disorder.

The Board has granted service connection for headaches and TBI residuals, finding that the Veteran's current diagnoses are related to his in-service symptoms. Service connection for MDD as secondary to TBI residuals is also granted.

The Board has granted service connection for migraine headaches, finding that the Veteran's self-reported history of headaches since military service is credible and establishes continuity of symptomatology. The decision also notes that there is no positive medical opinion linking the headaches to service, but resolves doubt in favor of the Veteran.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for service connection for sleep apnea and headaches as secondary to his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various disabilities, including a right shoulder disability, cervical spine disability, bilateral knee disabilities, and neurological disability of the right upper extremity have been denied. The Veteran's claim for headaches has also been denied.

The Veteran's dizzy spells/imbalance are granted as service-connected due to being caused or aggravated by his service-connected angina. The claims for irritable colon syndrome, migraines, and CFS are denied.

The Veteran is granted an effective date of September 30, 2011 for the grant of special monthly compensation (SMC) based on aid and attendance due to service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's chronic headaches have been rated at 50 percent since May 24, 2023. The claim for a higher rating remains in appellate status.

The Veteran was granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss. Prior to August [REDACTED], 2016, the Board denied nonservice-connected pension benefits due to the Veteran's employment and net worth.,From August [REDACTED], 2016 to February 29, 2020, the Board granted nonservice-connected pension benefits as the Veteran met all criteria for basic entitlement.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for higher initial ratings for PTSD and tension and migraine headaches, as well as her claim for a TDIU prior to June 4, 2018. The VA is directed to obtain relevant medical records and provide the Veteran with an opportunity for a retrospective VA medical opinion regarding her headache disability.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for tension headaches, bilateral tinnitus, and PTSD have been granted. The claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been denied. Service connection for ethmoid sinusitis is granted with a rating of 30 percent disabling. The Veteran's TDIU claim has also been granted.

The Veteran's headaches are rated at the maximum schedular rating of 50 percent. The Veteran's PTSD is currently rated at 70 percent, effective January 20, 2017. Other service-connected conditions have been assigned specific ratings.

The Veteran's claims for increased disability ratings are being remanded as the most recent VA examinations do not provide sufficient information to determine the current severity of his service-connected conditions. He needs new examinations to accurately assess the extent and severity of his headaches, depressive disorder, and right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome with arthritis.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development, including obtaining an addendum opinion regarding whether there is clear and unmistakable evidence that symptoms of the congenital disease did not start to manifest during service and that any increase in disability during service was due to the natural progress of the preexisting condition. The claims are also remanded for adjudication.

The Veteran's MDD and headaches have been rated based on their severity, with some issues granted and others denied. The rating for MDD remains at 50% prior to August 19, 2022, but is denied for a higher rating after that date. Headaches are rated as 30% from August 7, 2019 to September 17, 2022, and denied for a higher rating starting from September 17, 2022.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims due to incomplete information regarding his service stressors and other medical records. The Veteran will be provided another opportunity to provide authorization for additional treatment records, as well as requests for verification of alleged stressors.

The Board has decided to remand the claims for service connection for various conditions due to a lack of prison medical records. The Veteran is asked to provide releases and VA will attempt to obtain relevant treatment records from his current correctional facility.

The Veteran's back disability was aggravated by his service-connected right and left knee disabilities.,The Veteran's headache disability was caused by his service-connected tinnitus.