The Board granted the Veteran earlier effective dates for ratings of occipital neuralgia and vertigo with bilateral serous otitis media, as well as eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) and a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU).
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's symptoms and impairments met the criteria for the assigned ratings.
- Claimed conditions
- occipital neuralgia, vertigo with bilateral serous otitis media
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 23, 2025
- Citation
- A25005864
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 696 · Granted: 63% (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 A25005864.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's TDIU claim is remanded due to uncertainty regarding his employment status during the period on appeal. The Board needs more information about his work history and earnings.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the VA examinations need to be scheduled in order to determine if the Veteran's migraine headaches, occipital neuralgia, and neurological condition including seizures are related to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date prior to March 13, 2017 for a 50 percent rating for headaches with photophobia is granted. The Board finds that the Veteran's reports at the March 2017 VA examination indicate equally severe headache symptoms in January 2017 as they were in March 2017.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's headache disability, including occipital neuralgia, is remanded due to incomplete service records and the need for a new VA examination.
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