Sleep apnea decisions — 2005

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection for arterial hypertension, sleep apnea, and allergic rhinitis as secondary to his service-connected bronchial asthma.

The Board granted service connection for DDD and assigned a 60 percent evaluation effective October 28, 2002. The veteran's TDIU was also awarded with the same effective date.

The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected hearing loss and degenerative arthritis of the lumbosacral spine, right hip, and left hip are inadequately reflected by their current 20% and 10% disability ratings. The case is being remanded to provide the veteran with a comprehensive VA orthopedic examination to determine the severity of his service-connected conditions.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected postoperative residuals of DDD of L5-S1 with lumbosacral strain was granted, and he is currently rated at 60 percent disabling effective September 23, 2002.

The Board has granted a rating of 40 percent for chronic lumbosacral strain with degenerative disc disease since September 26, 2003.

The Board granted an initial rating of 20 percent for the veteran's lumbar facet disease and lumbosacral spondylolisthesis, effective September 1, 1994.

The case is being remanded for further development, including contacting the January 2003 examiner and scheduling a new VA medical examination of the veteran's spine.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of August 4, 1986 for a 100 percent rating for his service-connected silicosis with sleep apnea.

The Board has dismissed the appeal due to the appellant's withdrawal of the appeal prior to a decision being made.

The VA denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluations for his lumbosacral strain, finding that prior to April 12, 2001, the condition did not meet criteria for a higher evaluation. On or after April 12, 2001, the condition was found to be less severe than what would warrant an increase in evaluation.

The Board has determined that the veteran's current diagnosis of sleep apnea began during active military service and granted his claim for service connection.

The veteran's service-connected lumbosacral strain and right knee hamstring strain have been granted initial ratings of 20 percent and 10 percent, respectively. The TDIU claim was also granted.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for a Travel Board hearing due to the absence of the current Veterans Law Judge who conducted his June 2003 hearing.

The veteran's claim for TDIU prior to January 8, 1998 was denied because there is no evidence of an increase in severity of his service-connected back disability alone that would have warranted a TDIU effective date prior to the submission of his claim.

The Board has granted service connection for diabetes mellitus as secondary to the veteran's service-connected degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine. The increased ratings for coronary artery disease and hypertension are also granted.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining medical opinions regarding the relationship between service-connected lumbar strain with myositis and degenerative joint and disc disease of the lumbosacral spine.

The VA denied the veteran's request for a higher evaluation for lumbosacral strain, maintaining that his condition warranted only a 20 percent rating since May 8, 2001.

The Board denied an increased rating for the veteran's service-connected lumbosacral strain, but granted a 70 percent rating for his service-connected schizophrenia.

The Board has determined that the evidence is at least in equipoise regarding whether the veteran's PTSD and sleep apnea are linked to his service, warranting service connection for both conditions.

The VA denied the veteran's claim for an increased evaluation for his lumbosacral strain, currently rated at 20 percent.