Migraines and headaches: what the Board looked for
Real appeals where a private medical opinion tied headaches to service, to a head injury, or to another service-connected condition.
A nexus letter is a signed medical opinion that links a current condition to your service.
If the VA just denied your headache claim: your decision letter lists the reasons. We read those reasons next to your records, page by page.
If you haven’t filed yet: the points below are what the Board weighed in these appeals. A letter can cover them from the start.
Why headache claims get denied
- The VA exam gets a fact wrong, like saying your service records show no head injury when they show headache care.
- The VA exam points to years with no headache records after service and stops there.
- When another service-connected condition is blamed, the VA exam may demand a study proving direct cause. In one appeal it skipped the veteran’s account and never explained why tinnitus couldn’t make the headaches worse.
- Private letters fall short when they only repeat what you told the clinician and give no medical reasoning of their own.
What the Board looked for
“Probative” is the Board’s word for convincing.
The VA exam got a key fact wrong.Granted · 2026
“The Board finds the February 2024 VA opinion addressing the requirements of direct service connection is not adequate because it is based on an inaccurate fact.”
The VA examiner said service records showed no head injury. But they showed skull x-rays for headaches in service. The private doctor reviewed the file, used the veteran’s account of a blow to the head, and cited a study on head injuries and lasting headaches.
Read decision A26069431 on VA.gov (opens in a new tab)The ringing came right before each migraine.Granted · 2025
“The provider explained how these studies apply to the facts of the Veteran’s case”
The VA exam said no study proves tinnitus causes migraines. It skipped the veteran’s account that the ringing came right before each headache. The private opinion cited studies and explained why that kind of proof can’t ethically be tested. Then it tied the studies to his timeline.
Read decision A25050235 on VA.gov (opens in a new tab)Years with no headache records.Granted · 2025
“Hence, the private provider’s opinion is based on the more accurate factual predicate.”
Tension headaches were treated in service. Then the records went quiet for years, and the VA exam stopped there. The veteran wrote that the headaches kept coming. The Board believed him, and the private opinion relied on that account.
Read decision A25051580 on VA.gov (opens in a new tab)A private letter the Board turned down.Denied · 2023
“does not actually provide a medical opinion but rather relayed the Veteran’s reports”
Headaches in service came with an infection. The VA opinion tied later headaches to sinus trouble. The private letter repeated the veteran’s account and gave no reasoning of its own.
Read decision A23031491 on VA.gov (opens in a new tab)
What a strong nexus letter for headaches does
From the opinions the Board found convincing:
- Points to the exact service records: sick call visits for headaches, skull x-rays, a head injury.
- Takes your own account seriously: when the headaches started and that they kept coming after service.
- Deals with gaps in your records after service instead of skipping them.
- Cites studies and shows how they fit your case, such as ringing that comes right before each headache.
- Answers the VA examiner’s reasons directly.
- If another service-connected condition is the cause, covers both “caused” and “made worse.”
- Deals with other causes in your file, like an illness in service or sinus trouble.
- Gives its own medical reasoning. The Board turned down one letter that only relayed the veteran’s reports.
See what your records support
Our Nexus Check reads every page you send and cites the page for each finding, including pages that work against the claim. It’s free. If you request a letter, we draft it, and a licensed clinician reviews it, edits it and signs only what they support.
(360) 347-2563 · Mon–Fri 8am–5pm, Sat–Sun 8am–2pm Pacific. Outside those hours, request a call and we respond the next day we’re open.
If we don’t respond the same day during business hours, you get 15% off your nexus letter.
A call, voicemail or text from us counts as our reply. Business hours: Mon to Fri 8 to 5, Sat and Sun 8 to 2 Pacific. Terms
We don’t file claims or contact the VA for you. You or your accredited representative decide how to submit your evidence.
Public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decisions. These veterans weren’t Anchorpoint clients. Every claim is decided on its own evidence.