Citation Nr: 18157485 Decision Date: 12/13/18 Archive Date: 12/12/18 DOCKET NO. 14-03 815 DATE: December 13, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for migraines and headaches is denied. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran’s migraines and headaches were not incurred as a result of military service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for migraines and headaches have not been satisfied. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from September 1983 to October 1991. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from a November 2015 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran testified at a hearing with the undersigned in December 2016. A transcript of that hearing has been added to the Veteran’s file. This matter was remanded in November 2017 and has now returned to the Board. The Veteran has perfected an appeal as to additional issue but is awaiting a requested hearing before the Board regarding those issues. Those issues will be addressed in a later Board decision if ultimately necessary. Service Connection Service connection will be granted if the evidence demonstrates that a current disability resulted from an injury or disease incurred in or aggravated by active service, even if the disability was initially diagnosed after service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. Generally, to establish service connection, a claimant must show: (1) a present disability; (2) an in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the present disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service, the so-called “nexus” requirement. See 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303; see also Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). The Veteran testified at his hearing in October 2016 that he suffered from headaches during service when he became a welder, possibly as a result of sinus problems from the gasses he worked with while welding. He testified that he was only ever given over the counter medication and never went to a specialist during service. The Veteran also testified that he sought VA treatment approximately six months after service. However, the VA hospital in Atlanta was unable to find any medical records from the period of October 1991 to May 1994. The Veteran was properly notified of the unavailability of these records in an October 2018 letter. The Veteran’s service treatment records (STRs) are silent for complaints or treatment for migraines. The only mention of any type of headache was in June 1991 when the Veteran sought treatment for night vision issues. The Veteran’s post-service treatment records do not show treatment for migraine headaches until approximately June 1994, about three years after service. The Veteran submitted to a VA examination in October 2015 where he was confirmed to suffer from migraine headaches. The examiner did not provide an opinion as to whether the Veteran’s migraines were related to his military service. A VA medical opinion was obtained in July 2018. The examiner opined that the Veteran’s migraines were less likely than not related to his military service as the Veteran was never seen or treated for migraines in service, the only time any type of headache was mentioned was when the Veteran sought treatment for issues with night vision, he did not claim migraine headaches in his initial VA claim in 1992, and he was not diagnosed with migraines until 1994, three years after service. The Board has considered the Veteran’s statements, to include his assertions that he had headaches during service. As the Veteran is not shown to have medical education or experience, he is a lay person and is competent to report (1) symptoms that are observable to a layperson, e.g., headaches; (2) symptoms at the time supporting a later diagnosis by a medical professional; or (3) a contemporaneous medical diagnosis. See Davidson v. Shinseki, 581 F.3d 1313 (2009). The Veteran is not competent to independently render a medical diagnosis or opine as to the specific etiology of a condition as these are medically complex issues. Thus, his lay assertions do not constitute evidence upon which service connection can be granted. In any event, the Board ultimately assigns greater probative weight to the medical evidence of record, to specifically include the 2018 opinion rendered by a trained medical professional based a review of the relevant evidence which includes reasonably drawn conclusions with supportive rationale. The examiner was aware that the Veteran had headaches during service but found it significant that he was never diagnosed with migraine headaches – the current diagnosis – during service or for a few years after service, and that when he reported headaches during service it was in connection with a complaint of vision problems. The Board finds this opinion adequately accounts for the Veteran’s lay statements regarding headaches and provides a reasonable supporting rationale for the negative nexus opinion despite the presence of headaches during service. Although the Veteran has asserted that his headaches are secondary to sinusitis and allergic rhinitis, the Veteran is not service-connected for either sinusitis or allergic rhinitis. Thus, service connection on a secondary basis is not warranted. 38 C.F.R. § 3.310. Given the above, the preponderance of the evidence is against the claim for service connection for migraines and headaches and the claim is denied. Nathan Kroes Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Megan Shuster, Law Clerk