Sleep apnea decisions — 2020

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to incomplete personnel records and inconsistencies in his statements regarding the onset of various conditions. The issues will be reconsidered after obtaining all available service records.

The Board has denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD. The claims for emphysema and sleep apnea are remanded due to inadequate medical opinions. The claim for neuropathy of the lower extremities is also remanded as there is insufficient evidence regarding presumptive exposure.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment since December 1, 2009. The Board has granted a total disability rating based on unemployability (TDIU) for this period.

The Board has decided to remand the cases of service connection for hypertension and kidney dysfunction due to additional development being required. The decision on service connection for obstructive sleep apnea is denied.

The Veteran's application for service connection for hypertension, sleep apnea, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and residuals of a shrapnel wound to the right leg has been granted. The effective date is set at May 9, 2016.

The Veteran's headaches and sleep apnea are granted as service connected. The Board found the evidence to be in equipoise regarding whether the Veteran's sleep apnea is aggravated by his service-connected depressive disorder.

The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, finding it secondary to service-connected PTSD. The decision also remanded the issues of entitlement to a headache disability and TDIU due to service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's service-connected PTSD is found to be etiologically linked to his obstructive sleep apnea, and the claim for service connection for OSA as secondary to PTSD is granted.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for sleep apnea, pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB), deviated septum, right and left foot disorder, including pes planus, and erectile dysfunction with penis deformity have been granted. The Board found new and material evidence to reopen these claims.

The Board denied service connection for sleep apnea, finding no current diagnosis and insufficient evidence to establish a link between the condition and service or any service-connected disability.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for a left shoulder disability and OSA due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the nature and cause of these disabilities.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to incomplete examinations and opinions. The claims are now pending with the VA for further evaluation.

The Veteran's lumbosacral spine condition was rated at 20 percent prior to February 22, 2011. A higher rating is denied for any period on appeal. The claim for total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is also denied.

The Board has remanded the case for an addendum opinion to determine if the Veteran's sleep apnea is aggravated by his service-connected head injury with headaches.

The Veteran's asthma was granted service connection, and his obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to asthma is also granted. The Board remanded the issue of calcified bodies of both lungs for further development.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea as secondary to his service-connected PTSD, finding that the most probative evidence is against a finding of causation or aggravation.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's bilateral knee disability, melanoma, and lumbosacral spine strain are not service-connected. The claims for these conditions have been remanded to obtain additional evidence.

The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, and right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy due to potential exposure to herbicide agents in Vietnam. The Veteran's hearing loss is rated as noncompensable.

The Veteran's lumbar degenerative joint and disc disease, radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, and radiculopathy of the left lower extremity are rated at 10 percent each. The Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted for any of these conditions.,A separate compensable rating (10%) has been assigned for bilateral hearing loss.

The Board has remanded the claim for service connection for sleep disorder, claimed as sleep apnea, to include as secondary to service-connected chronic sinusitis due to incomplete development and lack of notification.