The Veteran's cluster headaches are currently rated at 50 percent, but the Board finds that the symptoms of severe sleep impairment and visual disturbances do not align with this rating. The Veteran is also unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation due to his service-connected headache disability. Both issues must be remanded for further action.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's headaches are rated at 50 percent, but the associated symptoms of severe sleep impairment and visual disturbances do not align with this rating, indicating an inadequacy in the established schedular criteria.
- Claimed conditions
- Cluster headaches, Chronic sleep impairment, Visual disturbances
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 9, 2018
- Citation
- 18125352
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 18125352.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's request for an earlier effective date of November 29, 2023, for the award of Total Disability based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU), finding that it was factually ascertainable that the Veteran became unable to secure or maintain substantially gainful employment as of January 16, 2021. The effective date is set at November 29, 2023.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, prevent him from securing or following substantially gainful employment. The Board granted entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU).
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), alcohol use disorder, and cluster headaches. The claims were remanded for further development of the evidence regarding unspecified mood disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and somatic symptom disorder.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to an initial compensable disability rating for cluster headaches prior to April 5, 2023, to obtain a retrospective medical opinion and outstanding VA treatment records.
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