Vertigo & vestibular disorders decisions — 2021

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for vestibular schwannoma and left ear hearing loss due to a lack of medical nexus opinions and potential radiation exposure.

The Board has granted the Veteran's request to reopen his service connection claims for Meniere's disease with hearing loss and tinnitus. The case is remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining service personnel records and an addendum opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's Meniere's disease with hearing loss.

The Board denied service connection for vertigo, finding no chronic symptoms in service and no evidence of a nexus to service. The Veteran's more recent histories of onset were inconsistent with other, more contemporaneous lay and medical evidence.

The Veteran's claim for an initial, maximum schedular 30 percent rating for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) associated with bilateral hearing loss is granted from January 15, 2020.

The Board has remanded the claims for mitochondrial disease, abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), arachnoiditis, enhanced brain meninges, and Horner's Syndrome, cognitive maladies, vertigo, chronic headache disability, chronic fatigue, gastrointestinal (GI) problems, and tinnitus due to service connection issues. The remand requires additional medical opinions on the etiology of these conditions.

The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss and service connection for vertigo (claimed as dizzy spells) was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding of current disability or a causal relationship to service, particularly given the Veteran's consistent denial of dizziness during his active duty.

The Veteran's TBI with vertigo and TDIU claims are remanded due to the need for a new VA examination, as well as VCAA notice regarding his TDIU claim.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's vertigo disability pre-existed service and if it was aggravated by service. The case will be returned for further development.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether a racing heartbeat during episodes of Meniere's disease is caused by or aggravated by the service-connected Meniere's disease.

The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for vertigo was denied. The claim for service connection for persistent depression with anxiety is granted, and the claim for service connection for a lumbar spine disability is reopened.,The Veteran's bilateral knee disabilities and migraine headaches are remanded for further evaluation.

The Veteran's persistent depressive disorder with anxious distress is granted service connection. Service connection for vertigo and rod in the right leg are denied.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and Meniere's disease with tinnitus, vertigo were granted effective as of December 20, 2011. A 100% rating was assigned for the entire appeal period from December 20, 2011 to May 3, 2019.

The Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability and remanded the other issues due to insufficient evidence. The Veteran's Meniere's syndrome with tinnitus is being evaluated without medication, and an addendum opinion on the severity of her cervical spine disability is needed.

The Board has granted a rating of at least 60 percent for Meniere's disease, but has remanded the issues regarding entitlement to higher ratings and a separate compensable rating for pain and crusting around the Veteran's hearing aid mount.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for Meniere's Disease, finding that there was no evidence of a direct or secondary relationship to his military service, including presumed herbicide exposure and/or service-connected hearing loss.

The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been received to warrant readjudication of the claims for bilateral hearing loss, right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy secondary to service-connected diabetes mellitus, type II, left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy secondary to service-connected diabetes mellitus, type II, kidney disease, hematuria, vertigo/vestibular disorder, and chronic cerumen buildup of the left ear. The claims for tinnitus have not been readjudicated as no new and relevant evidence has been received.

The Veteran's service connection claims for various disabilities, including back disability, right and left lower extremity radiculopathy, Parkinson's disease, sleep disorder, sinus disability, nocturia, altered gait, right ear growth, left knee strain, gynecomastia, inguinal hernia, priapism, bilateral pulmonary embolism, parotid neoplasms, and hepatitis C have been denied. The Board found no evidence of service connection or secondary service connection for these conditions.

The appeals for service connection and increased ratings have been dismissed. The issues of a compensable disability rating for bilateral hearing loss, compensation for a vestibular disorder (claimed as headaches and dizziness), and entitlement to TDIU are remanded.

The Board dismissed the Veteran's motion for revision of a June 2012 decision that granted service connection for tinnitus, right ear hearing loss, and a vestibular disorder. The motion did not meet the threshold requirements to establish clear and unmistakable error (CUE).

The Board has remanded the case due to outstanding VA and private treatment records, as well as a need for additional medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's claimed conditions.