The Veteran's headaches are found to be related to his service, and he is granted service connection for this condition.,Service connection for pituitary macroadenoma is denied as there is no evidence of a causal relationship with the Veteran's service. The claim for secondary service connection due to headaches is also denied.,The Veteran's hypertension is remanded for further examination, and it is unclear if it is related to his service or aggravated by his headaches.,Service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder (likely PTSD) is remanded as the stressor events have not been verified.
The deciding factor: There is evidence of a chronic headache condition dating back to service, and no other plausible cause has been identified. The Veteran's current diagnosis aligns with his reported symptoms.,The medical opinions indicate that there is no causal relationship between the pituitary macroadenoma and the Veteran's headaches or service. There is also insufficient evidence of a secondary aggravation by headaches.,There is currently no evidence linking hypertension to the Veteran's service, but further examination may reveal a connection. The examiner will need to determine if the condition was caused or aggravated by his headaches.,The stressor events have not been verified and are necessary for proper adjudication of the PTSD claim.
- Claimed conditions
- headaches, pituitary macroadenoma, hypertension, an acquired psychiatric disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 29, 2020
- Citation
- 20050497
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 20050497.
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.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development of records and will provide a supplemental statement of the case if necessary.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including VA examinations.
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