Vertigo & vestibular disorders Board decisions

The Veteran's Meniere's syndrome is rated at 100% disabling, and he has other disabilities rated at 60% or more. Therefore, the Board granted entitlement to a total rating for his Meniere's syndrome with tinnitus.

The Veteran's appeal for an increased evaluation of his gastroesophageal reflux disease and irritable bowel syndrome was dismissed. The claim for service connection for migraine headaches, secondary to previously service-connected tinnitus and peripheral vestibular disorder, is granted with a rating of 10 percent. The claim for a higher rating for peripheral vestibular disorder remains at noncompensable (zero percent).

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to a duty-to-assist error, and will consider any additional evidence submitted when readjudicating the claims.

The Board has found that the Veteran requires personal care services for a minimum of six continuous months due to neurological or other impairment. The claim is remanded to determine if participation in the PCAFC program would be in the Veteran's best interest and to obtain an adequate clinical determination.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for vertigo and migraine headaches due to duty-to-assist errors, requiring new VA opinions on the etiology of these conditions.

The Veteran's BPPV is granted with a separate 10 percent rating from February 5, 2024 to July 15, 2025. From July 15, 2025, the Veteran is entitled to a separate 30 percent rating for dizziness and occasional staggering.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current diagnoses of head pain and vertigo did not begin during service or are otherwise related to an in-service injury, thus denying his claim for service connection.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, TBI, and vertigo, have rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's vertigo is caused or aggravated by his service-connected tinnitus. The AOJ will obtain a new medical opinion and issue a new decision.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's claim for service connection of Meniere's disease. The VA examiner is required to provide an opinion on whether the condition is related to service, if it is secondary to a service-connected disability (such as tinnitus), and if it is aggravated by a service-connected disability.

The appeal for service connection for Meniere's disease is dismissed as moot due to a more recent decision that covers the same issue.

The Board has found new and relevant evidence for the claims of service connection for vertigo, back disorder, and right fifth finger disorder. The AOJ must readjudicate these claims based on this new evidence.

The Veteran is granted an effective date of July 18, 2018 for both TDIU and basic eligibility for education benefits under Chapter 35 (DEA). The decision acknowledges that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities precluded him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation throughout the period on appeal.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error in relying on an inadequate VA medical opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's BPPV and his service-connected tinnitus.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including migraine headaches, chronic vertigo, thoracolumbar spine degenerative disc disease, cervical spine degenerative disc disease, left and right lower extremity radiculopathy, have rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment. The Board has granted a TDIU based on the combined effects of these disabilities.

The Veteran's PTSD with MDD was granted a 100% disability rating effective May 2, 2023. An initial 30% disability rating for headaches is granted. A separate evaluation of 10% for dizziness related to tinnitus with vertigo is granted.

The appeal for service connection for left foot tendonitis is dismissed.,A separate disability rating for adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depression and generalized anxiety disorder with panic attacks due to military sexual trauma, to include bruxism, separate and apart from the rating for a traumatic brain injury, is denied.,An initial disability rating in excess of 50 percent for service-connected adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depression and generalized anxiety disorder with panic attacks due to military sexual trauma, to include bruxism and traumatic brain injury, is denied.,An initial disability rating of 30 percent, and no higher, for service-connected Meniere's syndrome is granted. The appeal for a separate rating for service-connected Meniere's syndrome is moot and dismissed.,The appeal for effective dates prior to December 13, 2021, for the award of service connection for left hip osteoarthritis, left hip limitation of abduction and rotation, left hip limitation of extension, right hip osteoarthritis, right hip limitation of abduction and rotation, and right hip limitation of extension is dismissed.,The appeal for a separate disability rating for bilateral pes planus and bilateral plantar fasciitis is remanded. The appeal for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for service-connected bilateral pes planus to include plantar fasciitis is remanded.,The appeal for service connection for right ankle ankylosis, left ankle ankylosis, and service connection for iron deficiency (anemia) are remanded. The motion for revision, on the basis of clear and unmistakable error, of the April 24, 1995, Rating Decision, which denied service connection for a left leg disability is also remanded.,The appeal for an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for service-connected left knee disability and right knee disability are remanded.

The Board has determined that the claims for service connection for Meniere's disease and bilateral hearing loss are remanded due to a duty-to-assist error. The Veteran contends his conditions began during active duty or were caused by prescribed medications, but there is insufficient evidence to support these assertions.

The Veteran's claim for an effective date earlier than February 23, 2024, for the grant of service connection for Meniere's syndrome is denied. The earliest effective date that may be assigned is February 23, 2024, pursuant to the Veteran's intent to file (ITF).

The Board has determined that the severance of service connection for vertigo and headaches was improper, thus granting the Veteran's appeals.