The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for tension headaches (claimed as migraine) is denied, and her claim for TDIU is granted.
The deciding factor: The current rating of 50 percent for tension headaches is the maximum allowed by current regulations, which considers very frequent completely prostrating and prolonged attacks productive of severe economic inadaptability. The Veteran's reported frequency and severity of migraines have been taken into account in reaching this higher rating.
- Claimed conditions
- tension headaches (claimed as migraine), depressive disorder NOS
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- May 29, 2019
- Citation
- 19141097
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,088 · Granted: 33% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19141097.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for tinnitus and tension headaches but denied service connection for a lower back condition.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the veteran's claimed psychiatric disorders because there was no evidence of a current disorder related to military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a lack of an adequate nexus opinion regarding the Veteran's service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder. A new examination is required to address whether any diagnosed condition is at least as likely as not incurred in or otherwise related to his active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining a VA examination and considering all relevant evidence.
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