Sleep apnea decisions — 2015

The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, but denied the Veteran's claims for sleep apnea, a bilateral hand disability, and back disability. The Board found that while the Veteran had these conditions, there was no evidence to support their direct relationship with his military service.

The Veteran's cervical spine disorder, including DDD and thoracolumbar spine disorder are not found to be caused or aggravated by the conditions that were compensated under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 'as if' service-connected.

The Board has remanded the case for a VA examiner to provide an opinion on the baseline severity level of sleep apnea disability prior to any aggravation by PTSD. The Veteran's claim will be readjudicated after this additional development.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and TDIU due to incomplete development of records, including VA treatment records and private medical records. The Veteran is required to provide additional information or authorization for these records.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected lower back disorder was denied by the Board, as the evidence did not show forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine in excess of 30 degrees or incapacitating episodes due to IVDS during any 12-month period.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his service-connected low back disability is denied. The current 40 percent rating from July 17, 2015, remains unchanged.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling VA examinations to assess the severity of his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions have been granted, but the initial ratings assigned are less than what he seeks.

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

The Board has granted service connection for PTSD, sleep apnea secondary to PTSD, and hypertension as secondary to service-connected psychiatric disorders. The Veteran's claims are remanded for additional development regarding the relationship between his hypertension and PTSD.

The Veteran's eczema is found to have had its onset in service, and the Board finds that service connection for eczema is warranted. The claim for sleep apnea secondary to PTSD is remanded due to insufficient evidence.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not preclude him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation prior to January 30, 2003.

The Board denied reopening the Veteran's claim of service connection for a low back disability and found that there is no current evidence showing residuals of a traumatic brain injury. The Veteran's claims were not supported by sufficient medical evidence.

The Board found that the Veteran's current sleep apnea did not have its onset in service and is not etiologically related to service, and such disability is not proximately due to or aggravated by a service-connected disability.

The Veteran's claim for a higher initial rating for his service-connected lumbosacral strain was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a rating in excess of 10 percent prior to May 14, 2009, and in excess of 20 percent as of that date.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the Veteran's claim of service connection for sleep apnea. The Board also found that the Veteran's sleep apnea is at least as likely as not secondary to his service-connected depression, thus granting service connection.

The Veteran's claim for a higher initial rating for his service-connected degenerative disc disease with facet arthritis of the lumbosacral spine is being remanded due to the need for additional treatment records.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining medical records and providing a VA examination to determine if the Veteran's sleep apnea is related to service or caused by his service-connected GERD.

The Board finds that the Veteran has a chronic variously diagnosed skin disability that became manifest in service and persists to the present time, thus granting service connection.

The Veteran's sleep apnea was not incurred in or aggravated by service, and may not be presumed to have been incurred in service. The Board found that the Veteran did not meet the criteria for secondary service connection as his sleep apnea is not causally related to his service-connected asthma.