Migraines & headaches decisions — 2024

The appeal to restore a 20 percent rating for bilateral hearing loss is granted. The appeals for service connection of migraines and BPPV are remanded.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for headache disability, acquired psychiatric disorder, and TBI due to an evidentiary window issue. The Veteran will be provided another opportunity to submit evidence within the August 2020 HLR rating decision.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings and service connection have been withdrawn. The claims of entitlement to specially adapted housing, special home adaptation grant, and financial assistance in the purchase of an automobile or adaptive equipment have also been withdrawn.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are related to a head injury incurred during service and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for right knee arthritis, left eye cataract, and headaches due to insufficient medical opinions addressing potential service connection.

The appeal is remanded to provide the Veteran with needed VA examinations and address concerns raised by the Court decision regarding his claims for service connection.

The Veteran's hypertension is related to his service-connected obstructive sleep apnea, and the claim for this condition has been granted. The issues of chronic rhinitis, chronic sinusitis, and chronic headaches are remanded due to incomplete medical records and potential exposure to toxic substances.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal before a decision was made, so the case is dismissed.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claim for service connection for a headache disorder due to inadequate VA opinions and incomplete opinion requests. The case is being returned to obtain additional medical opinions regarding causation, aggravation, and whether the headaches were caused or aggravated by service.

The Veteran's migraine headaches are currently rated as 30 percent disabling, effective September 1, 2020. The rating is based on characteristic prostrating attacks occurring once a month.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection for vertigo was denied. The Board granted a 30 percent initial disability rating for her vertigo, but denied entitlement to a higher initial disability rating or a compensable initial disability rating for migraines.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for specially adapted housing or a special home adaptation grant due to lack of anatomical loss or use of extremities, and his conditions are not related to exposure to burn pits, Agent Orange, Camp Lejeune, radiation, Gulf War Syndrome, or other presumptive conditions.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for a right ankle disability, migraine headaches, and erectile dysfunction due to procedural errors in the initial decision-making process. The claims are being returned for further development.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for a left foot disability, sleep apnea, memory loss disorder, and headache disability were dismissed due to improper filing of the appeals in the modernized review system (AMA). The issues of service connection for loss of memory and headache disability are remanded.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, anxiety disorder, low back condition, and headache condition due to a lack of evidence meeting VA criteria. The claims are being remanded for further development.

The Veteran's migraine headaches are granted service connection as they manifested within one year of separation from service. Service connection for the left wrist disability is denied.

The Board has decided to remand the claim of entitlement to service connection for headaches due to a lack of sufficient evidence to determine if the condition is related to service. The Veteran's current diagnosis of migraines and her statement that her headaches began in service following a fall are considered, but further examination is needed.

The Board has determined that the VA examination of record is inadequate and remands the case for a new opinion addressing the nature and etiology of the Veteran's migraine headaches, including whether they are secondary to his service-connected tinnitus.

The appeals of the proposed rating decrease for migraines from 50 percent to 30 percent and the identification of a duty to assist (DTA) error during higher-level review (HLR) for depressive disorder with mixed anxiety and depression are dismissed.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's tinnitus, migraine headaches, and PTSD with MDD and AUD resulted in sleep disturbances which, combined with his obesity from PTSD, caused physiological changes resulting in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). As a result, service connection for OSA is granted as secondary to these conditions.