Sleep apnea decisions — 2023

The Board has granted a Total Disability Rating for Individual Unemployability (TDIU) from June 1, 2008 due to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities.

The Board has remanded the cases for further development and to obtain a new medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's claimed back conditions are secondary to his service-connected right knee disability.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for lumbosacral strain and left hip disability manifested by pain have been granted.,The right hip strain rating has been restored to a 10% level.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection have been withdrawn. The Board has also remanded the claims for OSA and hypertension due to lack of a medical opinion.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's sleep apnea, and related issues. The Veteran's claim for service connection will be returned to VA for further development.

The Veteran's hypertension is granted service connection on a presumptive basis due to his service in Thailand. The other issues are remanded for further development.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for various disabilities, including sleep apnea, cervical spine disorder, right ankle disorder, left ankle disorder, right knee disorder, and left knee disorder. The remand is due to insufficient examinations and the need to consider whether the Veteran's reported symptoms are related to his military service or an undiagnosed illness.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for a sleep disorder, to include sleep apnea, and for TDIU prior to March 16, 2015 due to insufficient development in the record. The Veteran is required to provide updated VA treatment records and an additional medical opinion regarding his claimed conditions.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for a sinus condition, sleep disorder (OSA), and fatigue due to potential interplay with obesity and service-connected disabilities. The Veteran's service-connected disabilities are not shown to have caused or aggravated his obesity.

The Board has granted service connection for sleep apnea, finding that the Veteran's symptoms started in service and resolving reasonable doubt in his favor.

The Board has granted service connection for hypertension, OSA, and muscle and joint pain due to undiagnosed illness. The Veteran's claims are remanded for further action on other issues.

The Board has remanded the claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, to include as due to herbicide exposure or as secondary to service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), due to inadequate VA medical opinions and failure to answer specific questions in prior remands.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as a qualifying chronic disability resulting from an undiagnosed illness or combination of undiagnosed illnesses, appearing during active duty in the Southwest Asia theater of operations.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for various conditions, including headaches, cervical spine disability, sleep apnea, right hip disability, left hip disability, and muscle pain. The claims are being returned to VA for further development.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea has been reopened, and the Board finds that new evidence received since the last final denial raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating his claim. The case is remanded to obtain an addendum medical opinion addressing the etiology of the Veteran's OSA.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for a new VA examination to assess his lumbar spine condition and for research into his exposure to herbicide agents. The diabetes mellitus claim is also remanded due to a duty to assist error.

The Board denied service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, finding that the evidence did not demonstrate a link between the condition and the Veteran's active duty service.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's sleep apnea, specifically whether his service-connected disabilities caused or aggravated his obesity/overweight condition.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection and rating increases due to outstanding VA treatment records. Additional non-VA records from July 2017 to July 2020 are needed, including those associated with COPD treatment in an emergency facility.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including obstructive sleep apnea, migraine headaches, and various musculoskeletal conditions, rendered him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation from October 20, 2011, to February 1, 2015.