Vertigo & vestibular disorders decisions — 2016

The Veteran's claim for service connection for vertigo and dizziness is being remanded due to the need for additional records.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's peripheral vestibular disorder, including as secondary to service-connected bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, is granted.

The Veteran's current vestibular disorder was not incurred or aggravated by active service, and thus the claim for service connection is denied.

The Board found that the Veteran does not have a current disability for which service connection can be granted, specifically bilateral hearing loss, left ear pain, and vertigo. The evidence did not establish these conditions as being related to service.

The Board found that the Veteran's BPPV was not incurred or aggravated in service and is not proximately due to, or the result of, a service-connected disability. The claim for an effective date prior to April 18, 2014, for the assignment of a 10 percent rating for bilateral hearing loss was also denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's dizziness is not related to service or a service-connected disability, and therefore denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran is granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to his service-connected disabilities.,PTSD is rated at 70 percent, which is the maximum available under current criteria. The Veteran's PTSD does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's peripheral vestibular disorder, currently diagnosed as dizziness, is causally or etiologically due to acoustic trauma that occurred during service.

The Veteran's claims for higher ratings and service connection were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating for dysesthesia of the face and scalp associated with occipital neuralgia, as his disability was moderate. Service connection for arthritis of the cervical spine and vertigo were also denied due to lack of medical nexus.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is not related to service or a service-connected disability, and therefore denied his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including obtaining private treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to determine if his vertigo, including Meniere's Disease, claimed as a seizure disorder, is related to service.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's claimed disorder manifested by dizziness, which includes Meniere's disease.

The Board has granted service connection for tension headaches, vertigo, and insomnia as residuals of traumatic brain injury (TBI), but denied service connection for cognitive deficits and psychiatric disorder as residuals of TBI.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for vertigo, finding that his current condition is related to his military service.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including scheduling a VA examination and notifying the Veteran of the scheduled examination.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded to allow him a Board videoconference hearing for both his Meniere's disease and bilateral hearing loss claims.

The Veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of the cost of a March 8, 2011 MRI at Shands Hospital in Gainesville, Florida was denied because VA did not provide pre-authorization for the procedure and the services were provided despite this. The Veteran had a total disability permanent in nature from service-connected disability.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for right ear hearing loss disability and left ear hearing loss disability, finding that new evidence does not establish a current disability or link to service. The claim for Meniere's disease was reopened but remains denied.

The Board found that the Veteran's vestibular disorder is associated with a known clinical diagnosis, namely vestibular neuritis. The most probative evidence is against the claim of service connection for other conditions such as fatigue, insomnia, restless leg syndrome, fibromyalgia, and weight loss.

The Board has granted service connection for Meniere's disease and denied the claim for an initial compensable rating for erectile dysfunction.