Migraines & headaches decisions — 2024

The Veteran's TDIU claim is remanded due to the inextricability of his service connection claims. The Board will consider all pending service connection claims before deciding on the TDIU.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea is granted as secondary to his service-connected depressive disorder and other conditions. His claim for an increased rating for depressive disorder is also granted, but the claim for migraine headaches and lumbar spine condition remains pending.

The Board denied the Veteran's appeals regarding his claims of service connection for various conditions due to a failure to timely file a substantive appeal within 60 days of receiving the Statement of the Case (SOC).

The Veteran's service connection claims for chronic allergic rhinitis and chronic headaches have been granted due to presumed exposure to fine particulate matter during his service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and migraines as secondary to service-connected tinnitus.

The Veteran's tension headaches are currently rated noncompensable, and the Board finds that a compensable rating is not warranted.,The Veteran seeks an earlier effective date for service connection of headaches. The Board determines there is no legal basis to assign an earlier effective date.

The Board denied service connection for headaches and a left hip disorder, finding that the Veteran's claims were not supported by credible evidence of an in-service injury or disease.

The Veteran's appeal for a compensable rating for migraine headaches has been dismissed because the authorized representative withdrew the notice of disagreement.

The Veteran's headaches are denied as they pre-existed service and were not aggravated by active duty.,Service connection for obstructive sleep apnea is denied because there is no objective medical evidence of the condition during service, and it was diagnosed 29 years after separation.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection on all issues are remanded due to errors in the decision-making process and the need for additional development of evidence.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for migraines with visual disturbance has been dismissed due to his death during the appeal process.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for migraine headaches and gout of the bilateral big toes are remanded due to inadequate VA examinations that did not consider the ameliorative effects of medication on his disabilities.

The Veteran's claim for a higher level of SMC was denied as his service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for such an increase.

The Veteran's service connection claims for anxiety, PTSD, back disability, headaches, craniopharyngioma, and OSA have all been granted. The Board found that the current diagnoses are etiologically related to in-service stressors and events.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not meet the schedular criteria for a TDIU rating prior to June 13, 2019. The Board finds insufficient evidence to substantiate a reasonable possibility that he was unemployable solely because of his service-connected disabilities during this period.

Effective dates of December 11, 2015, but no earlier, have been granted for the awards of service connection for lumbar spine and right hip disabilities.,Initial ratings in excess of 10 percent for both conditions are denied.

The Veteran's generalized headaches are now rated at a 30 percent evaluation for the entire appeal period.,The cervical disability claim is remanded due to inadequate examination.

The Veteran's right hand/fingers condition is granted service connection as it resulted in functional impairment. The Veteran's headaches and patellofemoral pain syndrome (knee) are denied service connection due to lack of a link to service.

The Veteran's migraines were rated at 30 percent, but the Board found that they did not meet the criteria for a higher rating due to lack of very frequent completely prostrating and prolonged attacks productive of severe economic inadaptability.,For her unspecified anxiety disorder with associated depression, the Veteran was assigned a 50 percent rating. The Board determined that she met the criteria for this rating based on symptoms such as flattened affect, impaired judgment, disturbances of motivation and mood, and difficulty establishing effective work and social relationships.

The Board has determined that new evidence received after previous denials warrants readjudication of the Veteran's claims for service connection for scoliosis, bilateral hearing loss disability, and migraine headaches. The AOJ is directed to obtain additional medical records and schedule examinations to address these issues.