Vertigo & vestibular disorders decisions — 2011

The Board has granted service connection for Meniere's disease with associated hearing loss, tinnitus, vertigo, and headaches effective from September 23, 2004. This decision is based on the Veteran filing a claim specifically for Meniere's syndrome in September 2004.

The Veteran's stapedectomy residuals with vestibular impairment and vertigo are rated at 30 percent since February 26, 2008. The claims for higher ratings or TDIU were denied.

The Veteran is seeking service connection for Meniere's disease and entitlement to TDIU. The Board has ordered a remand due to the need for additional development, including obtaining an opinion regarding whether his Meniere's disease is related to his service-connected hearing loss and tinnitus.

The Board has ordered a new VA examination to determine if the Veteran's Meniere's disease is caused or aggravated by his service-connected diabetes mellitus, type II. The case will be remanded for this purpose.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for vertigo and bronchitis, finding that there is no evidence of a chronic disability in service or continuity of symptoms since discharge.

The VA determined that the Veteran does not have a disability claimed as vertigo manifested by a loss of balance and dizziness, to include Meniere's disease that began during service or is otherwise related to his active military service.

The Board found that the appellant did not have a disability manifested by dizziness prior to service and that any current benign positional vertigo is not related to active service. Therefore, service connection for benign positional vertigo was denied.

The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to his death during the pendency of the appeal.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to inadequate VCAA notice and an incomplete VA examination.

The Board has determined that Meniere's disease was incurred in service and grants the Veteran's claim for service connection.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings for chronic sinusitis and vertigo, finding that there was no evidence of three or more incapacitating episodes per year of sinusitis requiring prolonged antibiotic treatment, more than six non-incapacitating episodes per year of sinusitis characterized by headaches, pain, and purulent discharge or crusting, chronic osteomyelitis, or near constant sinusitis. The Board also found that the Veteran's vertigo did not cause dizziness with occasional staggering.

The Veteran's vertigo is being remanded for a videoconference hearing before the Board of Veterans' Appeals to determine if it developed due to Gulf War service, his last period of active service, or as a result of treatment for a spine disability.

The VA denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for vertigo, finding no competent and credible evidence of vertigo in service or for many years thereafter or of a nexus between any post-service vertigo and military service or service-connected right ear hearing loss or tinnitus.

The Board found that there is competent and credible evidence relating the Veteran's current diagnosis of Meniere's disease to noise exposure during his service, granting service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for vertigo has been reopened, but the new evidence does not establish a relationship to service. The claim for prostate cancer due to herbicide exposure is denied as there was no credible evidence of such exposure.

The Veteran's claims for service connection and increased ratings were adjudicated. The Board found that the Veteran withdrew his claims of residuals of right fibula fracture and TDIU, and granted a rating of 70 percent for PTSD effective March 9, 2011.

The Veteran's appeal includes claims for service connection for various conditions, including a bilateral leg disorder, hypertension, PTSD, vertigo, dyskinesia, paresthesia, diabetes mellitus, chronic pain (including as due to Agent Orange exposure), and spinocerebellar dysfunction. The case is being remanded for additional development.

The Veteran seeks reimbursement for private medical services provided due to a vertigo episode. The case is being remanded to determine if the Alexandria VA Hospital was closed on February 3, 2007 and whether his condition constituted an emergency.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining updated medical records and scheduling VA examinations to reassess the severity of her migraine headaches, vertigo, and acne rosacea.

The Veteran's benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, orthostatic hypotension, and sleep apnea are all found to be related to her military service. The Veteran is granted an initial compensable evaluation (10%) for TMJ disorder.