Citation Nr: 21075484 Decision Date: 12/20/21 Archive Date: 12/20/21 DOCKET NO. 16-41 466 DATE: December 20, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for headaches is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had active service in the United States Air Force from September 1979 to June 1983. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals from a February 2016 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran requested a hearing before the Board; however, in October 2021 he withdrew that hearing request and asked that his claim be decided based upon the evidence of record. The Veteran has claimed service connection is warranted for headaches on a direct and secondary basis. The Board recognizes that there is a single report of headaches in the Veteran's service treatment records in May 1983. Also, during the course of this appeal, the Veteran filed an additional VA 21-521EZ claim form in November 2016 to allege his headaches were due to his service-connected hypertension. In a February 2017 rating decision, on the Rating Codesheet, the RO indicated that it would not address the headache claims because the condition is already on appeal. The RO has not addressed the Veteran's secondary contention at any time. A review of the claims file reveals that at the time of a December 2015 hypertension VA examination, there was a report that the Veteran's headaches onset with dizziness and an elevation of blood pressure in 1980. The Veteran also reported at the time of this 2015 hypertension examination that he continued to experience headaches and dizziness. The Veteran was afforded a VA examination related to his headaches in February 2016. This examiner did not address the findings in the December 2015 report, and did not provide a secondary opinion. Based upon the 2015 findings, and the November 2016 claim by the Veteran that his headaches are secondary to his hypertension, the Board finds an additional opinion is needed in order to decide the Veteran's claim. Remand is, therefore, necessary. 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)(4). This matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain an opinion from an appropriate clinician regarding whether the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected headaches. The clinician should address the Veteran's report to the December 2015 hypertension examiner that headaches began with the onset of dizziness and high blood pressure in 1980 and that at the time of the 2015 hypertension examination he continued to experience dizziness and headaches. The clinician should also take the report of experiencing headaches, dizziness and high blood pressure in 1980 into account, along with recognition of headaches shown in the Veteran's service treatment records in May 1983, and the report in 2015 of experiencing similar symptoms, and provide an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran's headaches are related to the Veteran's active service. A rationale that includes consideration of the relevant medical evidence and the Veteran's competent lay statements related to the history of his symptoms should be provided for any opinion expressed. 2. After completing the above actions, to include any other development as may be indicated by any response received as a consequence of the actions taken in the preceding paragraphs, the Veteran's claim should be readjudicated based on the entirety of the evidence. S. Sorathia Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Adamson, Counsel 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.