Sleep apnea decisions — 2005

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been presented to reopen the claim for service connection for a low back condition. The veteran's current low back disability is related to his military service, and the Board grants service connection for this condition.

The VA denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for her lumbosacral strain with osteoporosis and bilateral carotid and aortic stenosis, assigning a 20 percent rating for the former condition effective July 1, 2002.

The Board has granted entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities, effective January 24, 2001.

The veteran's initial ratings for lumbosacral strain, paresthesias of the right lower extremity, and paresthesias of the left lower extremity have been denied.,The RO has not assigned any compensable rating to these conditions.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for a back disorder, hemorrhoids, headaches, and PTSD. The evidence does not support a finding that these conditions are related to service.

The VA denied an increased rating for the veteran's service-connected lumbosacral strain, currently rated at 40 percent.

The Board denied increased ratings for the veteran's service-connected lumbosacral strain with secondary degenerative arthritis, thoracic spine degenerative arthritis, right ankle fracture and chronic synovitis, and left ankle degenerative arthritis.

The veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including PTSD, low back disorder, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, flatfeet, skin disorder, headaches, nosebleeds, sleep apnea, joint pain, depression with memory loss, sexual dysfunction, and neuropathy of the upper and lower extremities, were denied as there is no competent medical evidence linking these conditions to service or any incident during service.

The Board has granted service connection for peripheral neuropathy due to herbicide exposure in Vietnam. The veteran's spine disabilities are remanded for additional development, including obtaining treatment records and scheduling an orthopedic examination.

The veteran's claim for increased ratings for residuals fracture transverse process L1, L2 and L3 with degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine was granted. His bilateral hearing loss rating remains at 10 percent.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for an increased rating for his service-connected low back disability and for service connection for hypertension, finding no evidence to support a higher evaluation or a secondary relationship between his service-connected condition and his current health issues.

The veteran's claims for an increased rating and service connection were denied. The herniated nucleus pulposus at L5-S1 is currently rated as 20 percent disabling, effective October 21, 1998.

The veteran's lumbosacral muscle spasm is currently rated at 20 percent, and his degenerative arthritis of the left ankle was initially rated at 10 percent prior to January 18, 2005. The RO has now granted a higher rating of 20 percent for the left ankle from January 18, 2005.

The Board has granted a 40 percent disability rating for the veteran's low back disability effective from May 16, 2001. The RO also granted a 60 percent disability rating for the same condition starting July 10, 2003.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded to obtain updated medical records and to schedule him for VA examinations to assess the severity of his service-connected disabilities. The RO will then re-adjudicate his claims based on the new evidence and examination results.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected musculoligamentous sprain, lumbosacral sprain was granted effective August 14, 2004. The current disability rating is 40 percent.

The VA denied the veteran's claim for an increased rating of his service-connected lumbosacral strain, currently rated at 20 percent.

The veteran's claims for increased ratings for cervical spine, lumbar degenerative disc disease, and thoracic spine disabilities were denied as the evidence did not show that his service-connected conditions warranted higher disability evaluations.

The VA denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluations for calcific peritendonitis of the left shoulder and lumbosacral strain, finding that both conditions did not warrant an evaluation in excess of 20 percent.

The VA determined that the veteran's service-connected degenerative joint disease of the lumbosacral spine with low back strain does not warrant a rating in excess of 40 percent.