Sleep apnea decisions — 2024

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to his service-connected post-traumatic stress disorder. The decision is based on medical opinions that link the Veteran's current sleep apnea condition to his PTSD and weight gain/obesity.

The Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea was diagnosed during a period of active duty, and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's sleep apnea is directly related to his active service and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to his service-connected lumbosacral strain, with obesity serving as an intermediate step in the causal chain.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the relationship between the Veteran's service-connected PTSD and his newly diagnosed OSA. The VA will seek an addendum opinion from a qualified clinician to address causation, aggravation, and obesity as an intermediate step.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for OSA as secondary to his service-connected anxiety disorder associated with patellofemoral syndrome left knee. The decision is based on a private medical opinion that supports this finding.

The Veteran withdrew her appeal for service connection for sleep apnea as secondary to posttraumatic stress disorder.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty to assist error, specifically failing to provide a VA examination for sleep apnea. The Veteran's service-connected conditions are claimed as secondary to his current condition.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of January 15, 2013, for service connection of lumbosacral strain was granted. The initial rating of 10 percent for the condition remains unchanged.

The Veteran's lumbosacral strain and right lower extremity radiculopathy have been granted increased ratings, with the effective date set at March 6, 2017.,Right lower extremity radiculopathy, sciatic nerve has also been granted an evaluation of 40 percent from February 6, 2019.

The Board has remanded the claims for athlete's foot, back disability, neck disability, right ankle disability, left ankle disability, left knee disability, right knee disability, bilateral foot disability, bilateral hearing loss, and obstructive sleep apnea due to duty-to-assist errors.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected deviated septum aggravated his nonservice-connected obstructive sleep apnea. The VA needs to obtain an addendum opinion from a clinician to address this issue.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to duty-to-assist errors, including a lack of medical opinions on the etiology and pathophysiology of the Veteran's sleep apnea. The Veteran is seeking service connection for this condition.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty-to-assist error in the initial adjudication, and will need new examinations to determine the etiology of the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea.

The Board has remanded the case due to duty-to-assist errors, and a new VA examination is required to determine if the Veteran's sleep apnea had its onset during service or is otherwise related to Gulf War environmental hazard exposure.

The Board has remanded two issues related to the Veteran's lumbosacral facet arthritis with thoracolumbar degenerative disc disease and degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine prior to October 22, 2008. The remand requires obtaining a retrospective medical opinion that substantially complies with the April 2022 Board remand instructions.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for hyperlipidemia, hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea, and left leg pain and edema due to a lack of current disability related to these conditions. The issues of service connection for hypertension and obstructive sleep apnea are being remanded for further development.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for chronic lumbosacral strain was granted with an effective date of August 9, 2018.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings are being remanded due to the need for additional examinations and consideration of evidence from his active-duty service period.

The Veteran's OSA is found to be the result of his service-connected PTSD with alcohol use disorder, and thus granted secondary service connection.