Citation Nr: 21004932 Decision Date: 01/28/21 Archive Date: 01/28/21 DOCKET NO. 16-55 495 DATE: January 28, 2021 ORDER Service connection for tinnitus is granted. Service connection for a skin condition, including eczema, on the inside of the knees, is granted. Service connection for migraine headaches is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran has a current tinnitus disability, per May 2015 VA audiology examination; on January 2021 he provided competent and credible testimony that he experienced significant acoustic trauma without hearing protection including during a firefight on a convoy and explosive ordinances; he also worked as a bulk fuel specialist with repeated noise during flight-line duty as per March 2020 statement in support of the claim; in a May 2003 post-deployment questionnaire the Veteran reported ringing his ears; and he also provided competent and credible testimony on January 2021 and lay evidence, per a March 2020 statement, that the ringing in his ears began in service and has persisted until the present. [A May 2015 examiner did not provide an adequate rationale for the negative causal linkage opinion and did not take into account the Veteran’s lay reports of continued symptoms from service, which the Board finds credible and accurate.] 2. During service the Veteran had an eczema condition noted in a February 2003 smallpox vaccination initial note; at his January 2020 Board hearing, he provided competent and credible lay evidence that his condition began in service and has persisted until the present, as per a March 2020 statement in support of the claim, and continues to persist until the present day between his knees and is constant now, as per January 2021 Board testimony. 3. During service, the Veteran had documented headaches in May 2003; he provided competent and credible lay evidence that his condition began in service and has persisted until the present, as per a March 2020 statement in support of the claim, and the observable symptoms continue to persist weekly and can last several days until the present day, as per January 2021 Board testimony. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. Service connection for tinnitus condition is warranted. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.304, 3.307, 3.309. 2. The criteria for service connection for a skin condition, including eczema, have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.304. 3. The criteria for service connection for a migraine headache condition have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.304. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty from May 2002 to November 2002 and from January 2003 to July 2003. This matter is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2015 rating decision by the Newark, New Jersey Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran timely initiated an appeal in May 2016 and perfected it in November 2016. In January 2021, a hearing was held before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ). For the reasons explained above, the appeals are granted. VICTORIA MOSHIASHWILI Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Arritt, David The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.