Migraines & headaches Board decisions

The Board remands the matter of entitlement to service connection for a headache disability due to incomplete or inadequate VA examinations and missing service records.

The Board denied service connection for scars of the bilateral hands and arms, denied higher ratings for knee strain, dyspnea, erectile dysfunction, and tinnitus, and remanded several other issues including service connection for headaches disability.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for irritable bowel syndrome, traumatic brain injury, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and headaches due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error in not obtaining relevant treatment records from the Florida Department of Corrections.

The Board granted a rating of 50 percent for migraines, the maximum schedular rating, as the Veteran's headaches were characterized by very frequent completely prostrating and prolonged attacks productive of severe economic inadaptability.

The Veteran's service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder with traumatic brain injury was granted an evaluation of 70 percent disabling, while other claims were denied.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for a recurrent neurological disability, including partial complex seizure disorder and headache disability, and a recurrent ear disability, including otitis externa, to ensure necessary development is completed.

The Board granted entitlement to TDIU from January 23, 2015 to October 16, 2017 based on the aggregate impact of the Veteran's service-connected disabilities precluding substantially gainful employment. The Board denied service connection for benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH), finding the evidence persuasively weighs against any relationship to service or service-connected disabilities.

The Board remands the claim for a new VA examination to assess the severity of the Veteran's service-connected migraines without considering the ameliorative effects of medications prescribed for them.

The Board granted service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome and an acquired psychiatric disorder but denied increased ratings for obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral plantar fasciitis, and erectile dysfunction with hypogonadism.

The Board remands the matter for an addendum opinion to address whether the Veteran's headaches are related to service or his service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder.

The Board granted service connection for major depressive disorder with alcohol use disorder and unspecified trauma and stressor related disorder, but denied service connection for headaches.

The Board granted service connection for unspecified anxiety disorder with major depression, pituitary microadenoma benign neoplasm with migraine headaches, and asthma with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), with assigned ratings of 70%, 50%, and 30% respectively. The claims for other conditions were remanded.

The Board denied service connection for migraine headaches as there is insufficient evidence to establish the presence of a current disability.

The Board granted an effective date of December 27, 2021, for the 50 percent rating for migraines but dismissed claims for earlier effective dates for service connection and initial ratings for irritable bowel syndrome.

The Board granted service connection for migraine headaches, finding a link to the Veteran's active-duty service. The claim for GERD was remanded for further development.

The Board granted service connection for irritable bowel syndrome and increased the ratings for gastroesophageal reflux disease and migraine headaches. The appeal was dismissed in some cases, and certain issues were remanded.

The Veteran withdrew the appeal for all issues, including initial ratings and service connection for persistent depressive disorder, residuals of TBI, and headaches.

The Board granted restoration of the 50 percent disability rating for migraines and denied an increased rating higher than 50 percent.

The Board denied higher ratings for migraines, lumbosacral strain, and left knee strain with tendonitis, but granted a 10 percent rating for atopic dermatitis of the left lower chest. The claim for service connection for sinusitis was also denied.

The Veteran's migraine headaches are rated at 50 percent, and an earlier effective date for the grant of eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance under 38 USC chapter 35 is granted from October 31, 2020.