Sleep apnea decisions — 2018

Service connection for a lumbosacral spine disability, diagnosed as degenerative joint disease, is granted. Effective May 29, 2012, the Veteran also receives a 40 percent rating for fibromyalgia.

The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss and a sleep disorder, to include sleep apnea. The claim for service connection for degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine remains pending.

The Board has remanded the case due to an inaccurate factual premise in a VA medical opinion and the need for further examination.

The Board has determined that the VA examinations and opinions provided are inadequate for the issues of right hip disability, chronic sinusitis, and obstructive sleep apnea. The claims will be remanded to obtain additional medical opinions addressing whether these conditions are related to service or a service-connected condition.

The Board has determined that additional examinations are needed to determine the etiology of the Veteran's asthma and sleep apnea, as well as whether these conditions are related to his military service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's service treatment records are incomplete and requests for these records have not been completed. The Veteran is also requested to provide any additional medical records from private providers, including Dr. Baldwin.

The Board has decided to remand the claim of service connection for sleep apnea due to presumed exposure to Agent Orange during active duty in Vietnam. The case is sent back for a VA medical examination and opinion.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's sleep apnea may be related to his service-connected PTSD, and thus remands for a new examination to determine if this is true.

The Board denied service connection for sleep apnea and skin cancer, finding that the evidence did not support a link to service or any other condition.

The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to non-compliance with previous remand directives and the need for a new VA examination.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea should be remanded due to incomplete examination and lack of opinion on aggravation by service-connected PTSD.

The Veteran's application to reopen the claim for hiatal hernia was granted, and service connection for hypertension, PTSD, obstructive sleep apnea, migraine headaches, lumbar spine disability, major depressive disorder, right little finger ankylosis, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and radiculopathy of the left lower extremity was denied. The Veteran's claim for increased evaluations for various conditions was also remanded.

This decision dismisses the appeal for an initial compensable rating for erectile dysfunction. It grants a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU). The appeals for service connection of various conditions are remanded.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for various conditions, including hypertension and prostate cancer, was denied. The claim for PTSD received an increased rating to 70 percent effective from April 15, 2015.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions have been denied. The Board found no new and material evidence to reopen the claim of sleep apnea, and denied service connection for tinnitus, erectile dysfunction, prostate disability, high cholesterol, migraine headaches prior to December 28, 2016, left knee disability, right knee disability, hypertension, and anxiety disorder.,The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for migraine headaches from December 28, 2016 onwards have been granted with a 30% rating. The effective date of the award has also been denied.

The Board has remanded four issues: service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) secondary to service-connected persistent depressive disorder with anxious distress, service connection for hypertension due to in-service herbicide exposure, an initial evaluation in excess of 30 percent for coronary artery disease (CAD), and an effective date prior to June 2, 2014, for the award of service connection for CAD. The Veteran's OSA may be related to his service-connected depressive disorder with anxious distress, but no examiner has provided a baseline level of severity or degree of disability resulting from aggravation. Hypertension is not on the list of diseases warranting presumptive service connection based on herbicide exposure, but there is now sufficient evidence associating hypertension with Agent Orange exposure. The Veteran should be afforded VA examinations to clarify these issues.

The Veteran withdrew his appeals for sleep apnea and erectile dysfunction before the Board could make a decision.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for further development and adjudication, including obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling a VA examination.

The Board denied service connection for hypertension and granted entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities.

The Board has determined that there are outstanding VA medical records and requests the Veteran to provide them. The claims for service connection will be remanded until these records are obtained.