Entitlement to service connection for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is granted.

Citation Nr: A26069996 Decision Date: 07/30/26 Archive Date: 07/30/26 DOCKET NO. 251107-605553 DATE: July 30, 2026 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. Service connection has been established for tinnitus; generalized anxiety disorder with panic disorder, recurrent major depressive disorder and insomnia; migraine; nocturia; bilateral temporomandibular joint disability with bruxism; right long finger arthropathy; acne; and a right hand scar. 2. Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo has been shown to be related to the service-connected tinnitus. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to service connection for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo have been met. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.310(a). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active service from January 2009 to October 2009 and from August 2010 to September 2010. He had additional duty with the Marine Corps Reserve. In June 2025, the Agency of Original Jurisdiction denied service connection for vertigo. In July 2025, the Veteran submitted a Decision Review Request: Higher Level Review, VA Form 20-0996. In August 2025, the Agency of Original Jurisdiction denied service connection for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. In November 2025, the Veteran submitted a Decision Review Request: Board Appeal (Notice of Disagreement), VA Form 10182; elected the Direct Review docket; and waived his right to select a different Board review option. Therefore, the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) may only consider the evidence of record at the time of the Agency of Original Jurisdiction decision on appeal. 38 C.F.R. § 20.301. Any evidence submitted after the Agency of Original Jurisdiction decision on appeal cannot be considered by the Board. 38 C.F.R. §§ 20.300, 20.301, 20.801. Service Connection for Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo The Veteran contends that service connection for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is warranted as the diagnosed disability is related to the service-connected tinnitus and migraine. Service connection may be granted for recurrent disability which is proximately due to or the result of a service-connected disease or injury. 38 C.F.R. § 3.310(a). Service connection shall be granted on a secondary basis under the provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 3.310(a) where it is demonstrated that a service-connected disorder has aggravated a nonservice connected disability. Allen v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 439 (1995). Service connection has been established for tinnitus; generalized anxiety disorder with panic disorder, recurrent major depressive disorder and insomnia; migraine; nocturia; bilateral temporomandibular joint disability with bruxism; right long finger arthropathy; acne; and a right hand scar. The report of a May 2025 ear examination conducted for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) states that the Veteran was diagnosed with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. An April 2025 evaluation from C. Lockard, A-GNP-C, states that the Veteran's records had been reviewed. She concluded that "it is my professional opinion that [the Veteran's] [v]ertigo is at least as likely as not caused by his service connected [t]innitus." The nurse practitioner commented that: tinnitus and vertigo are "interconnected through the complex anatomy and physiology of the inner ear;" the Veteran's military service resulted in cochlear damage; "[t]he cochlea and vestibular apparatus share close anatomical proximity and neural pathways, meaning damage to one can influence the other;" and "[w]hen the cochlea is damaged, as in the case of noise-induced tinnitus, it can lead to aberrant signaling within the vestibular system" which in turn "can result in vertigo." The evidence is in at least equipoise as to whether the diagnosed benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is related to the service-connected tinnitus. A VA examiner and a private examiner diagnosed the Veteran with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. Ms. Lockard concluded that "is at least as likely as not" that the benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is related to the service-connected tinnitus. Upon resolution of all reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor, the Board finds that service connection for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo mellitus is warranted. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.310(a). J. T. HUTCHESON Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board R. Kettler, 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.