Migraines & headaches decisions — 2025

The Board denied several claims for increased ratings and granted service connection for left lower extremity radiculopathy, restored a 10 percent rating for right knee instability effective May 12, 2021, and granted an effective date of June 22, 2016, but no earlier, for the award of eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits under 38 U.S.C. chapter 35.

The Board denied the claims for service connection for migraines, a right hip disability, and a left hip disability as there was no evidence of a current disability or a link to service.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for heat stroke and migraine to afford the Veteran a VA examination.

The Board granted service connection for migraines, to include as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected chronic sinusitis. The appeal for tinnitus was dismissed due to untimeliness.

The Board remands the claims for a rating in excess of 30 percent for PTSD and an initial compensable rating for migraines due to incomplete VA treatment records and an inaccurate examination.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for various conditions to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error, including verifying in-service stressors and scheduling examinations.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for diabetes mellitus, headaches, and a psychiatric disability.

The Board granted service connection for intervertebral disc syndrome, resolving doubt in favor of the Veteran. The claims for obstructive sleep apnea, GERD, and headache disability were remanded for further development.

The Board remands the claim for a new examination to address the Veteran's migraines, considering her service as a Persian Gulf veteran and potential toxic exposures.

The Board granted a 30 percent disability rating for migraines and an earlier effective date of September 30, 2020, for eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) under the provisions of 38 U.S.C. Chapter 35.

The Board remands the claim for an initial compensable disability rating for migraines to obtain a medical opinion addressing conflicting evidence regarding the severity of the Veteran's condition.

The Board denied a compensable disability rating for the Veteran's migraines as they did not meet the criteria for characteristic prostrating attacks averaging one in 2 months over the last several months.

The Board granted service connection for headaches as secondary to PTSD and sleep apnea as secondary to obesity caused by the Veteran's service-connected disabilities.

The Board granted service connection for adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood, but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and bilateral tinnitus. The claims for service connection for bilateral hammertoe deformities and chronic headaches were remanded.

The Veteran's requests for extensions of time to file Board Appeal requests were denied, and the attempted appeals were dismissed.

The Board denied service connection for 20 conditions including depression, anxiety, and traumatic brain injury, finding insufficient evidence of in-service incurrence or nexus. The Board remanded three conditions (back condition, left lower extremity neuropathy, and left leg condition) for further adjudication.

The Board dismissed the appeal for a rating higher than 30 percent for headaches and remanded claims for service connection for acquired psychiatric disorders, traumatic brain injury, and gastroesophageal reflux disease to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors.

The Veteran's hearing loss does not meet the criteria for an initial compensable rating.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a higher initial evaluation for migraines, finding that the evidence did not support a rating in excess of 30 percent.

The Board denied an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for the Veteran's service-connected headaches, as the evidence did not show that his attacks were very frequent and productive of severe economic inadaptability.