Sleep apnea decisions — 2020

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient opinions regarding the Veteran's fatigue and its relationship to service, including chronic fatigue syndrome, OSA, and allergies.

The claim to reopen service connection for PTSD is granted, and the claim for service connection for PTSD itself is also granted. The claims for service connection of other conditions are remanded.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient reasoning in a previous medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's sleep disorder is related to his presumed exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.

The Veteran's claim for TDIU is remanded due to insufficient medical evidence and the need for a retrospective opinion on his disability from February 3, 2015 to February 1, 2017. The case will also be referred to the Director of Compensation Service for extra-schedular consideration.

The Board has remanded several issues related to the Veteran's service connection claims, including for an evaluation of his umbilical hernia, bilateral hearing loss, right knee disability, retinal damage of the right eye, dry eye disability, sleep apnea, bilateral pes planus, and a cervical spine disability. The Veteran is also being remanded for further examination to determine if he has these conditions.

The Veteran's service connection claim for sleep apnea is granted. The claim for right hip strain is remanded.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for a total disability rating due to individual unemployability (TDIU) as his combined evaluation is less than 60% and he can still engage in substantially gainful employment.

The Board denied service connection for various foot and ankle conditions, including a back condition. The evidence did not support a finding that the Veteran's current conditions were related to his military service.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining a supplemental opinion from a VA examiner regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected musculoskeletal conditions caused or aggravated his obesity and if that led to his sleep apnea.

The Veteran's lumbosacral soft tissue edema/swelling is at least as likely as not associated with her service-connected thoracolumbar spine disability, and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient reasons and bases provided in the June 2019 decision regarding non-snoring sleep-related symptomology during service, as well as the relationship between sleep apnea and bruxism. The Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea is now pending again with instructions to obtain updated VA treatment records and provide an addendum opinion.

The Veteran's appeals for initial ratings in excess of 50 percent for obstructive sleep apnea with restless leg syndrome and an initial noncompensable rating for allergic rhinitis have been dismissed.,The Veteran has been granted TDIU based on his service-connected disabilities.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's respiratory disorder, characterized as asthma and left lower lung fibrosis with upper field thickening, requires additional development due to inadequate examination findings. The issues of increased rating for sleep apnea are also remanded.

The Board has remanded the claims for further development due to insufficient evidence. The Veteran's right shoulder bursitis and lumbosacral strain are currently rated as 20 percent and 10 percent, respectively, but both conditions require additional examination and evaluation.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to flaws in the reasoning of a previous VA opinion, and requests a new medical nexus opinion to determine if the Veteran's sleep apnea is related to service or his back disability.

The Board has dismissed the appeal as the appellant's representative requested withdrawal of the appeal due to the AOJ granting a TDIU.

The Veteran's current obstructive sleep apnea and pulmonary disorder are not related to service.,Service connection for degenerative joint disease of the left knee, degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, right shoulder neuropathy secondary to degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, left shoulder neuropathy secondary to degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, and a left elbow disability is denied.

The Board has ordered the case to be remanded for a new examination and opinion regarding whether the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea is caused or aggravated by his service-connected condition, specifically chronic obstructive lung disease.

The Board denied a total disability rating for compensation purposes based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) because the Veteran's service-connected conditions did not render him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a cervical spine disorder, claimed as secondary to degenerative spondylosis of the lumbar spine with DDD, has been reopened. The appeal is granted in part and denied in part. Service connection for prostate cancer, sleep apnea, and an acquired psychiatric disorder (PTSD) are also remanded.