Vertigo & vestibular disorders decisions — 2024

The Veteran's claim for service connection for vertigo as secondary to his service-connected tinnitus has been denied.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, claimed as secondary to his service-connected PTSD, is being remanded for further review.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for hearing loss and tinnitus were granted due to the diseases being chronic conditions that may be presumed to have been incurred in service. The claim for service connection for vertigo was denied as there is no current diagnosis or persistent symptoms.

The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeals regarding earlier effective dates for PTSD, migraine headaches, and vertigo due to TBI as they are not appealable decisions.

The Board has denied service connection for left and right lower extremity radiculopathy, as well as vertigo. The appeal of hypertension was dismissed due to untimeliness.

The Board has granted service connection for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) due to an in-service fall that caused the Veteran to strike his head, with doubt resolved in favor of the Veteran.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for headache and vertigo disabilities due to insufficient evidence in the record regarding their onset during service or their relationship to service-connected conditions. The Veteran is required to be provided with VA examinations to determine the nature and etiology of these disabilities.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of August 27, 2021, for a 100 percent rating for Meniere's Disease is granted. The evidence supporting the rating was factually ascertainable by the record on that date.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's peripheral vestibular disorder is secondary to his service-connected sinusitis and tinnitus.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for vertigo as secondary to his service-connected tinnitus, finding that there was no evidence of a causal relationship between the two conditions.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial rating in excess of 30 percent for Meniere's syndrome, finding that his symptoms did not warrant a higher rating based on hearing impairment or vertigo. The Veteran was already receiving the maximum schedular rating for tinnitus.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to a lack of VA examination and duty to assist errors.

The Veteran's claims for hypertension, bilateral hearing loss, kidney disability, and several other disabilities are denied. The Board has remanded the remaining service connection claims.

The Board has denied service connection for Meniere's syndrome and granted service connection for left (non-dominant) shoulder disabilities secondary to the Veteran's service-connected right shoulder disabilities.

The Board has granted a disability rating of 100 percent for the Veteran's service-connected Meniere's syndrome, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus. The decision affords the full benefit of doubt to the Veteran in light of his reported symptoms.

The Veteran's TDIU claim is granted with an effective date of January 19, 2019. The Board found the Veteran was unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation due to his service-connected disabilities.

The Board dismissed the appeals for a disability rating in excess of 10 percent for left lower extremity radiculopathy sciatic nerve, service connection for dizziness and lightheadedness (claimed as vertigo), and service connection for right shoulder disability due to the Veteran's death.

The Veteran's claim for a 30 percent disability rating for vertigo was granted effective April 30, 2008. The Board found that the date of entitlement arose on this date.

The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for deviated nasal septum is being remanded due to procedural errors and the need for additional medical opinions.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a peripheral vestibular disorder (claimed as dizziness) was submitted on July 17, 2020. The Board found that the Veteran had previously filed a valid claim in October 2017 and later withdrew it due to errors. As no prior decision denied this condition, a supplemental claim was not required. Therefore, the Board granted service connection for the peripheral vestibular disorder.

The Veteran's PTSD alone rendered him unable to secure and maintain substantially gainful employment, and his other service-connected disabilities combined to at least a 60% rating. SMC based on statutory housebound status is granted as of April 21, 2015.