Sleep apnea decisions — 2020

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to inadequate opinions regarding the nature and etiology of the appellant's psychiatric, headache, and sleep apnea disabilities. The appellant is requested to provide a letter from his grandmother if it exists.

The Board denied a rating in excess of 30 percent for hiatal hernia with GERD and granted a TDIU, finding the Veteran unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment due to service-connected disabilities.

The Board has decided to remand the cases of service connection for a right foot disability and a back disability due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their relationship to service.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's sleep apnea may be related to his military service and presumed herbicide agent exposure, but needs further examination and opinion.

The Board has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's service connection claims, including sleep apnea, knee and shoulder disorders, foot fungus, and headaches. The Veteran is required to provide updated medical records and undergo examinations for his claimed conditions.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for various service-connected disabilities, including hearing loss, anxiety disorder, headaches, sleep apnea, shoulder strain, vertigo, back issues, sciatica, and nerve damage in the upper extremities, were denied. The Board found that there was no evidence of current disability for some conditions (e.g., left ear hearing loss) or insufficient symptoms to warrant higher ratings.

The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection for chronic fatigue syndrome, bilateral hearing loss disability, right ear otitis media, sleep apnea, and low testosterone. The Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.

The Veteran withdrew his appeals for all issues currently before the Board, including those related to increased ratings and TDIU.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a sleep disability, right shoulder disability, lumbosacral myositis and lumbar disc degeneration, left knee tendonitis, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). The cases are being returned to the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) for further development.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient rationale in the previous examination opinions regarding whether the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea was incurred during service or related to his service-connected asthma and allergic rhinitis.

The Board has remanded the claims for obstructive sleep apnea, irritable bowel syndrome, and pes planus with plantar fasciitis to consider additional evidence submitted by the Veteran.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of sleep apnea, finding that there is no evidence linking his current condition to active duty.

The Board denied the Veteran's appeals for service connection for myopathy, sleep apnea, hypertension, and Barrett’s esophagus to include gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) due to untimely notice of disagreement.

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, is granted with a 50% rating throughout the entire period on appeal. The initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss disability and service connection for sleep disorder are denied.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea, which is related to his diabetes mellitus and PTSD, has been denied. The Board found no credible evidence linking the sleep apnea directly to service or secondary to any service-connected conditions.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including sleep apnea, hypothyroidism, ischemic heart disease, bilateral hearing loss, degenerative disc disease, tinnitus, and left-hand fracture, prevent him from securing or following any substantially gainful occupation.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral knee disability, heart disorder, sleep apnea, radiculopathy of the right upper extremity, and radiculopathy of the left upper extremity. The Veteran's radiculopathy with atrophy, right lower extremity, was rated 10 percent; the rating for radiculopathy, left lower extremity, was also 10 percent.,The Board denied service connection for a heart disorder and found that the Veteran’s conditions were less likely than not proximately due to or the result of his service-connected adjustment disorder or bronchitis.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the schedular criteria for assignment of a TDIU, and his employment history does not reflect that he is unable to engage in substantially gainful employment as a result of his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for her service-connected lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis of the spine and costochondritis are being remanded due to the need for additional VA examinations.,An effective date of January 18, 2008 is granted for the grant of service connection for lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis of the spine and costochondritis.

Throughout the appeal period, the Veteran's GERD with esophageal stricture and eosinophilic esophagitis was rated at 10 percent. A separate 30 percent rating is now granted for the esophageal stricture.,The Veteran’s chronic lumbosacral strain remains rated at 10 percent throughout the appeal period.