Sleep apnea decisions — 2013

The Board has found that the Veteran's current lumbosacral spine and bilateral knee disabilities are related to his military service, including injuries sustained from parachuting duties.

The Board found that the Veteran's current sleep disability did not have its clinical onset in service and is not otherwise related to active duty, thus denying his claim for service connection.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's sleep apnea began during his military service and is therefore granted as service connection.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a sleep disorder, claimed as sleep apnea, and his right knee disorder were denied. The August 2007 rating decision denying the right knee disorder is final.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection of residuals of a left shoulder injury and lumbosacral spine disorder, finding no evidence to support these conditions were incurred in or aggravated by active duty.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining updated VA treatment records and scheduling the Veteran for examinations to determine the etiology of his sleep apnea and diabetes mellitus.

The Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea is found to be related to his active military service and the claim for service connection is granted.

The Board found that the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea was not incurred in or aggravated by active service and is not causally related to a service-connected disability.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for further procedural and evidentiary development, including obtaining records of psychiatric, HIV, and low back treatment since November 2009; scheduling VA examinations for his spine and psychiatric condition; and determining whether the Veteran wishes to proceed as a pro se claimant.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including verifying periods of active duty and inactive duty training, scheduling VA examinations to address left shoulder disability, chronic fatigue syndrome, sleep apnea, and tinnitus claims, and addressing the etiology of these conditions.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining additional VA treatment records and requesting a supplemental opinion from the examiner who evaluated the Veteran in 2011.

The Veteran's claim for a higher initial rating for his service-connected lumbosacral spine disability was denied. The current rating of 40 percent is maintained.

The Board found that the Veteran's lumbosacral strain with arthritis does not meet or approximate the criteria for a disability rating in excess of 40 percent, as he did not have ankylosis. The current evaluation is therefore denied.

The Veteran's claims for service connection were denied as there is no evidence of a chronic disability manifested by gastrointestinal problems, sleep impairment, joint pain (other than fibromyalgia), or low back disability that was incurred in active service.,There are no objective indications of chronic disabilities resulting from undiagnosed illnesses or medically unexplained multisymptom illnesses.

The Board has granted service connection for sleep apnea on a direct basis, finding that the Veteran's current disability is related to his period of active service.,The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the issue of entitlement to an increased evaluation for headaches prior to the issuance of a decision.

The Veteran's claim for a higher disability rating for her lumbosacral spine condition was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a rating greater than 20 percent.

The Board found that the Veteran's current obstructive sleep apnea did not originate during his active service and is not related to any incident during active service.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his service-connected lumbar spine disability is being remanded due to the need for additional medical examinations and development of records.

The Veteran's lumbosacral spine disability has been manifested by forward flexion to no less than 70 degrees and combined range of motion of 267 degrees, accounting for pain on motion and after repetition; however, there was no muscle spasm or guarding resulting in abnormal gait or abnormal spinal contour. The Veteran's lumbosacral spine disability did not meet the criteria for an increased evaluation in excess of 10 percent.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to determine the etiology of the Veteran's sleep apnea.