The Veteran's initial claim for a compensable rating for tension headaches prior to April 3, 2015 was denied. From April 3, 2015, the Veteran received an increased rating of 50 percent for her tension headaches.
The deciding factor: The Veteran reported consistent headache symptoms from April 3, 2015 onwards, including very frequent and prostrating attacks due to her tension headaches, needing to nap during these severe flares, and missing work if her headaches were bad enough. The VA examiner found that the Veteran had characteristic prostrating attacks of headache pain more than once a month and very prostrating and prolonged attacks of migraine/non-migraine pain productive of severe economic inadaptability.
- Claimed conditions
- Tension headaches
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- March 22, 2023
- Citation
- 23018101
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 23018101.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's initial evaluation for tension headaches to include migraines is granted, with a rating of 50 percent effective from May 23, 2023.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for tension and migraine headaches is remanded due to the inadequacy of the September 2020 VA examination report, which did not consider the ameliorative effects of medication.
- Granted
The Veteran's tension headaches, which have been service-connected since the grant of service connection, are found to be very frequent and completely prostrating with prolonged attacks productive of severe economic inadaptability. The Board grants an initial 50 percent rating for tension headaches prior to December 1, 2020.
- Granted
The Veteran's tension headaches are rated at a 30 percent rating, effective December 26, 2024. The Board found that the Veteran experienced characteristic prostrating attacks occurring on an average of once a month over the last several months, warranting this rating. A higher rating is denied.
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