Vertigo & vestibular disorders decisions — 2020

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for vertigo, the propriety of reducing his rating for major depressive disorder with ADHD from 60% to 40%, a higher rating for major depressive disorder with ADHD, a higher rating for primary central nervous system lymphoma with psychomotor seizures, and a compensable rating for diplopia with convergence insufficiency. The claims will be remanded for further development.

The Board has denied the reopening of multiple previously denied claims for service connection due to lack of new and material evidence. The Veteran's claims were not reopened as there was no evidence linking his current disabilities to his military service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for a cervical spine disability, migraine disability, and bilateral ankle disabilities have been remanded due to insufficient evidence.,Service connection for vertigo has not been established.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, Meniere’s disease, and degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine. The Veteran's current conditions are related to his in-service noise exposure and physical activities.

The Board granted service connection for vertigo (dizziness and loss of balance) with an initial rating of 30 percent effective May 23, 2008. The appeal of attorney fees based on past-due benefits awarded in the September 2019 rating decision is denied.

The Veteran's dizziness, characterized as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), is now rated separately from his service-connected tinnitus. The Board found that the evidence supported a diagnosis of BPPV and granted a separate 10% rating for this condition.

The Veteran's service-connected vertigo with dizziness is causing significant impairment to his daily activities, which may warrant special monthly compensation. The Board finds a need for further development by scheduling the Veteran for a VA examination.

The Veteran's chronic fatigue symptoms are attributed to his service-connected psychiatric disorder, and the Board finds no evidence of a chronic undiagnosed illness.,The Veteran's vertigo is found to be etiologically related to his service-connected psychiatric disorder.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development due to inadequate medical opinions on the etiology of the Veteran's disabilities, specifically vertigo with ear pain, neck disability, and back disability.

The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus. The remaining issues have been remanded due to incomplete records and the need for additional examinations.

The Board denied service connection for cervical, low back, right knee, left knee, left ankle, and right ankle disabilities as well as vertigo and lung/breathing disability. The Board found no medical evidence linking these conditions to the Veteran's active service.,Service connection was not granted on a direct basis due to lack of a medical nexus between the current conditions and active service.

The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 10 percent for bilateral hearing loss from August 13, 2019 is denied. The case is remanded to obtain clarification on the February 2018 audiometric evaluation and to provide an addendum opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's vertigo and headaches with his service-connected hearing loss or tinnitus.

The Veteran's claim of entitlement to a TDIU was denied in July 2010, and the AOJ found that new evidence did not demonstrate his inability to secure or follow substantially gainful employment. The Veteran filed claims for increased ratings and reopened previously denied claims after July 14, 2014.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), have rendered him unable to secure and maintain substantially gainful employment. The Board has granted a total disability rating based on individual unemployability.

The Board denied service connection for hypertension, benign hypertrophy of the prostate, a separately diagnosed sleep disability, hypothyroidism, urinary incontinence, and vertigo as there is no credible evidence linking these conditions to military service.,The Veteran's statements regarding the onset or relationship of his disabilities to military service were not supported by medical evidence.

The Board has decided to remand the cases of sleep apnea and vertigo due to a lack of records from a study conducted in 1958 at Great Lakes Naval facility by the Naval Medical Research Unit No. 4, where the Veteran claims he was subjected to multiple injections of antibiotics.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional medical examinations.,VA is required to obtain VA treatment records from the Veteran, as well as updated examinations for his panic disorder with shortness of breath, left ankle disability, deviated septum, acute bronchitis, benign neoplasms (nose problems), and Meniere’s disease.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss and total disability based individual unemployability due to a lack of recent medical records, employment records, and tax returns. The Veteran is also asked to provide functional impairments assessments and etiological opinions regarding his vertigo.

The Veteran's service connection for vertigo is granted, but his right ear hearing loss does not meet the criteria for a compensable rating.

The Board has dismissed all issues on appeal due to the appellant's withdrawal of all claims.