Vertigo & vestibular disorders decisions — 2020

The Board denied service connection for a vestibular condition, including vertigo, benign positional vertigo, orthostatic hypotension, and/or acute labyrinthitis, finding that the Veteran's symptoms did not manifest to a compensable degree within the applicable presumptive period or were not chronic in service.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's vertigo is not service-connected due to insufficient evidence, and has ordered a new VA examination.

The Board has granted service connection for Sjogren's syndrome, Meniere's disease, and Bell's palsy due to exposure from contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. The Veteran's conditions are considered a direct result of his military service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, finding that her conditions did not warrant higher ratings based on the evidence of record.

The Board denied service connection for right lower extremity radiculopathy and genitourinary disorders other than recurrent urinary tract infection, granted service connection for recurrent urinary tract infection including residuals, and remanded the vertigo claim for further medical examination.

The Board has granted the Veteran's request to reopen her claim for service connection for right knee disorder and remanded other issues related to GERD, lower gastrointestinal disorder, and peripheral vestibular disorder. The claims are now pending further examination and opinion.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss, vertigo, and GERD due to conflicting evidence regarding the severity of his hearing loss prior to 1999, and insufficient consideration of whether he would have reported it during service. The issues are being remanded for further clarification and additional medical opinions.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claim for an increased disability rating for residuals of traumatic brain injury (TBI) to consider whether referral for consideration of an extraschedular rating is necessary.

The Board has dismissed all appeals for service connection for various conditions, including vertigo, back disability, status-post open reduction internal fixation of right hip and femur fracture, chronic headaches, cerebrovascular accident (CVA), acquired psychiatric disorder, eye disability, and skin disability, all claimed as secondary to falls caused by service-connected right knee and ankle arthritis.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient reasons and bases for determining that the Veteran's BPPV had worsened in severity, while also not mentioning an examiner's notation of falls resulting from his imbalance.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for vertigo, the propriety of reducing his rating for major depressive disorder with ADHD from 60% to 40%, a higher rating for major depressive disorder with ADHD, a higher rating for primary central nervous system lymphoma with psychomotor seizures, and a compensable rating for diplopia with convergence insufficiency. The claims will be remanded for further development.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not result in a loss or loss of use other than an upper extremity, blindness in both eyes with limited vision, or a permanent and total disability due to an inhalation injury. The Board finds that the Veteran does not meet the criteria for eligibility for specially adapted housing or special home adaptation.

The Board has denied the reopening of multiple previously denied claims for service connection due to lack of new and material evidence. The Veteran's claims were not reopened as there was no evidence linking his current disabilities to his military service.

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, Meniere’s disease, and degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine. The Veteran's current conditions are related to his in-service noise exposure and physical activities.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for a cervical spine disability, migraine disability, and bilateral ankle disabilities have been remanded due to insufficient evidence.,Service connection for vertigo has not been established.