Sleep apnea decisions — 2002

The veteran's sleep apnea is found to be attributable to service, and the Board grants service connection for this condition.

The veteran's lumbosacral strain is currently rated at 20 percent, effective May 4, 2000. His bilateral pes planus is rated as 30 percent disabling. The Board has also granted a total rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.

The November 1988 rating decision denied service connection for retinitis pigmentosa because there was no clinical evidence of the condition in service records and the first objective diagnosis was seven years after separation from active duty.

The Board has determined that the veteran's chronic lumbosacral strain was incurred during service and is granted service connection.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for a higher rating for his service-connected chronic lumbosacral strain and for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to that condition. The appeal was not about service connection at all.

The veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral hearing loss and lumbosacral strain, render him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment. The Board has determined that he is entitled to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability.

The Board has determined that the veteran's lumbosacral spine pain and x-ray evidence of moderate degenerative changes do not warrant a rating higher than the currently assigned 10 percent, as there is no objective evidence to support muscle spasms necessary for a higher evaluation under Diagnostic Code 5295.

The Board has determined that the veteran's lumbosacral strain and postoperative residuals of lumbar fusion for spondylosis and spondylolisthesis do not warrant a rating in excess of 40 percent.

The Board granted a 20 percent disability evaluation for lumbosacral strain with evidence of herniated disc at L4-L5 and L4-S1, effective from May 13, 1997.

The Board has granted a 40 percent rating for the veteran's lumbosacral spine disability, effective from the date of the decision. The veteran is not individually unemployable by reason of service-connected disability.

The Board has determined that the veteran's degenerative joint disease of the lumbosacral spine is proximately due to or the result of his service-connected bilateral foot disability, and thus grants service connection for this condition.

The Board found that the veteran's service-connected lumbosacral strain and migraine headaches do not warrant increased ratings as they are currently evaluated.

The Board has granted a 20 percent disability rating for the veteran's lumbosacral strain with degenerative changes, effective from November 1, 1998.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an effective date prior to November 25, 1991 for the award of disability compensation benefits for degenerative changes of the lumbar spine and lumbosacral strain. The appeal is now remanded due to incomplete records and need for a VA examination.

The veteran's appeal has been dismissed due to his death.

The Board denied the appellant's claims for an increased disability rating for lumbosacral strain and service connection for hypertension, finding that the schedular criteria for a higher rating were not met and that hypertension was not incurred in or aggravated by active duty for training.

The veteran's claim of service connection for a psychiatric disorder, including psychosis, has been reopened and is granted. The claim of entitlement to a compensable disability rating for hemorrhoids remains denied.

The Board found that the veteran's sleep apnea was not related to his service-connected deviated nasal septum and denied both claims. The veteran's deviated nasal septum disability is currently rated as noncompensably disabling.

The Board has granted an effective date of April 1988 for the veteran's service connection for retinitis pigmentosa, finding that a claim was made in April 1988 and resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the veteran.

The veteran is seeking an increased evaluation for his service-connected low back disability, which he argues includes degenerative disc problems. The RO needs to obtain updated medical records and schedule the veteran for a special VA orthopedic and neurological examination to determine the nature and severity of his disability.