Sleep apnea decisions — 2021

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for increased rating, service connection, and TDIU due to his acquired psychiatric disorder, headaches, sleep apnea, and hypertension. The issues include challenges regarding the competency of a VA examiner and need for additional medical opinions.

The Board has granted an effective date of July 29, 2013 for the award of service connection for obstructive sleep apnea. The Veteran's submission of a Sleep Apnea DBQ on that date is considered his informal claim for this benefit.

The Board has granted service connection for lumbosacral strain, finding that the evidence is at least evenly balanced as to whether the Veteran's condition was related to his active duty service.

The Board has remanded the claim for service connection for sleep apnea due to inadequate medical opinions and missing lay reports. The Veteran's active duty service is associated with symptoms of snoring, daytime sleepiness, and instances where she stopped breathing in her sleep following a deployment.

The Veteran's appeals for increased ratings and service connection have been dismissed due to his withdrawal of the appeal.

Service connection for OSA is granted, and a 50% evaluation for PTSD prior to June 8, 2020 is also granted.,PTSD from June 8, 2020 onwards is denied.

The Board denied service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and chronic fatigue syndrome, finding that the evidence did not support a direct link to service or any other established theory of service connection.

The Board denied service connection for OSA as secondary to PTSD, finding that the evidence did not support a causal or aggravation relationship between the conditions.

The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for sleep apnea, hypertension, and gastrointestinal disorder due to service in Southwest Asia. The reasons include inadequate VA examinations and internal inconsistencies within the examination reports.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's sleep apnea is not related to his active duty service and does not qualify for secondary service connection due to his service-connected coronary artery disease. The claim for service connection for sleep apnea was denied.

The Veteran's lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis, right and left lower extremity radiculopathy disabilities have been granted ratings from July 1, 2011 to January 23, 2019. The Veteran is now in receipt of a 40 percent rating for his lumbar spine disability. For the period beginning December 14, 2017 to November 18, 2019, he was granted ratings of 20 percent for right and left lower extremity radiculopathy (sciatic nerve). The Veteran's claims for increased ratings beyond these periods were denied.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to insufficient evidence and need for additional medical opinions.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's OSA and obesity, as well as its relation to his service-connected disabilities.

The Board denied service connection for a right hip condition, obstructive sleep apnea, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to lack of evidence linking these conditions to the Veteran's military service.

The Veteran's appeal as to sleep apnea was dismissed due to his withdrawal of the appeal. The appeals for hearing loss, tinnitus, psychiatric disorders, and left leg disorder are remanded.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including Tarui's disease, sleep apnea, depression, lumbar spine disability, and tinnitus, have rendered him unable to secure or maintain substantially gainful employment due to physical and mental limitations.

The Veteran's sleep apnea and asthma are being remanded due to misapplication of VA regulations, and new evidence may warrant higher ratings.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, including as due to his service-connected PTSD. The evidence does not support a finding that the Veteran's current OSA is related to active service or caused by his service-connected PTSD.

The Veteran's claim for an initial disability rating of 70 percent for PTSD is granted, effective May 12, 2010. The issues of increased ratings for COPD, right shoulder degenerative joint disease, erectile dysfunction, sleep apnea, and bilateral flat feet are dismissed.

The Veteran's appeals have been dismissed as he has withdrawn all of his pending claims.