Sleep apnea decisions — 2024

The Veteran withdrew his appeals of the earlier effective date claims for major depressive disorder, obstructive sleep apnea, mitral regurgitation, and tinea corporis.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to his service-connected residuals of right ankle sprain, finding that obesity resulting from the service-connected condition was a substantial factor in causing the current disability.

The Veteran's left and right lower extremity varicose vein conditions are not service-connected.,The Veteran's GERD is remanded for further evaluation due to inadequate etiology opinion.,The Veteran's tinnitus is remanded for further evaluation due to inadequate nexus opinion.,The Veteran's sleep apnea is remanded for further evaluation due to inadequate secondary service connection etiology opinions.,The Veteran's low back condition is remanded for a VA examination.

The Board has granted service connection for right shoulder degenerative arthritis, left ankle strain, cervical strain, and lumbosacral strain as these conditions have been continuously present since the Veteran's military service.

The Veteran's service connection claims for migraines, sleep apnea, and allergic rhinitis have been granted. Additionally, the Veteran's 10% rating for allergic rhinitis has been restored.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus, hypertension, atrial fibrillation, sleep apnea, and mycosis fungoides due to insufficient evidence regarding herbicide exposure at Camp A.P. Hill.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea is caused or aggravated by his service-connected deviated septum, and thus grants the claim for service connection.

The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for Sleep Apnea (OSA) as secondary to his service-connected Anxiety and Depressive Disorder, finding that there is a link between these conditions based on medical evidence.

The Veteran's hypertension is granted with a 10% rating. The PTSD with alcohol use disorder and COPD are denied as not warranting an increased rating.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient etiology opinions regarding the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea, which is claimed as secondary to service-connected right knee surgery and left shoulder condition.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, secondary to his right shoulder disability is being remanded due to the submission of new and relevant evidence. The AOJ must readjudicate the case based on all available evidence.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea is secondary to obesity caused by his service-connected thoracolumbar spine condition.

The Veteran's lumbosacral strain disability is currently rated as 10 percent disabling. The Board has remanded the issue of entitlement to a higher rating for this condition.

The Board has determined that the evidence is in equipoise as to whether the Veteran's sleep apnea (OSA) is related or aggravated by his service-connected depression and anxiety, thus granting service connection for OSA.

The Veteran's appeals for service connection for a bilateral lumbosacral disorder and anxiety/depression were dismissed as the Veteran did not file a Notice of Disagreement within one year of the August 8, 2019 decision.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's sleep apnea is proximately due to or the result of his service-connected PTSD, and thus grants service connection for sleep apnea as secondary to PTSD.

The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected chondromalacia patella of the left knee, finding that obesity, a result of his service-connected knee disorder, was a substantial factor in causing his OSA.

The Board has remanded the claims for sleep apnea and cardiac disability due to inadequate VA examinations. The Veteran's service-connected migraine headaches may be related to her obstructive sleep apnea, but a secondary service connection is not established. For her cardiac disability, there is insufficient evidence to establish its onset during service or relate it to any in-service symptoms.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for sleep apnea and GERD, both claimed as secondary to his service-connected PTSD with dysthymia. The VA examiner must provide an addendum opinion addressing whether these conditions were caused or aggravated by the service-connected condition.

The Veteran's migraine headaches are currently rated at 30 percent, but the Board finds no evidence of very frequent completely prostrating and prolonged attacks productive of severe economic inadaptability. The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is not shown as chronic in service or within a presumptive period, did not manifest to a compensable degree within a presumptive period, and were not noted in service with attributable continuity of symptomatology.,The Veteran has been denied service connection for fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), right shoulder disability, left shoulder disability, sleep apnea, and TDIU prior to March 16, 2021.