The Veteran's initial claim for a 50% rating for tension headaches was granted effective September 27, 2016. The appeal for an earlier effective date than September 27, 2016 for the grant of service connection for tension headaches is denied.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's claim for service connection for tension headaches was pending since July 3, 1974 when he filed his first informal claim. The August 1974 rating decision found no evidence of a current disability on VA examination and the denial became final. The September 2016 application for reopening based on new and material evidence is considered the earliest date of receipt of the claim.
- Claimed conditions
- Tension headaches
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- November 30, 2023
- Citation
- 23063474
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 23063474.
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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