Vertigo & vestibular disorders decisions — 2021

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for a vestibular schwannoma and left ear hearing loss due to potential service connection issues.

The Board denied service connection for vertigo, finding no chronic symptoms in service and no evidence of a nexus to service. The Veteran's more recent histories of onset were inconsistent with other, more contemporaneous lay and medical evidence.

The Board has remanded the claims for mitochondrial disease, AAA, arachnoiditis, cognitive maladies, vertigo, chronic headache disability, and tinnitus due to service-connected conditions or exposure to herbicide agents. The VA is required to obtain additional medical opinions regarding the etiology of these disabilities.

The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for vertigo was denied. The claim for service connection for persistent depression with anxiety is granted, and the claim for service connection for a lumbar spine disability is reopened.,The Veteran's bilateral knee disabilities and migraine headaches are remanded for further evaluation.

The Veteran's persistent depressive disorder with anxious distress is granted service connection. Service connection for vertigo and rod in the right leg are denied.

The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss and service connection for vertigo (claimed as dizzy spells) was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding of current disability or a causal relationship to service, particularly given the Veteran's consistent denial of dizziness during his active duty.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether a racing heartbeat during episodes of Meniere's disease is caused by or aggravated by the service-connected Meniere's disease.

The Veteran's TBI with vertigo and TDIU claims are remanded due to the need for a new VA examination, as well as VCAA notice regarding his TDIU claim.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the nature and etiology of the Veteran's vertigo disability, specifically whether it pre-existed service. The case will be returned for further development.

The Board has granted a rating of at least 60 percent for Meniere's disease, but has remanded the issues regarding entitlement to higher ratings and a separate compensable rating for pain and crusting around the Veteran's hearing aid mount.

The Board denied service connection for Meniere's Disease, finding that the condition is not related to active service or secondary to service-connected bilateral hearing loss and/or tinnitus.

The Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability and remanded the other issues due to insufficient evidence. The Veteran's Meniere's syndrome with tinnitus is being evaluated without medication, and an addendum opinion on the severity of her cervical spine disability is needed.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and Meniere's disease with tinnitus, vertigo, and hearing loss are granted effective as of May 3, 2019. The Veteran is assigned a 100% rating for these conditions from that date.

The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been received to warrant readjudication of the claims for bilateral hearing loss, right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy secondary to service-connected diabetes mellitus, type II, left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy secondary to service-connected diabetes mellitus, type II, kidney disease, hematuria, vertigo/vestibular disorder, and chronic cerumen buildup of the left ear. The claims for tinnitus have not been readjudicated as no new and relevant evidence has been received.

The Board has remanded the case due to outstanding VA and private treatment records, as well as a need for additional medical opinions regarding the nature and etiology of the Veteran's claimed dizziness/vertigo.