Sleep apnea decisions — 2025

The Board granted service connection for lumbosacral strain, but denied service connection for PTSD with depressive features and residuals of a gunshot wound to the right thigh.

The Board remands the claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea to obtain a new medical opinion addressing direct and secondary service connection, as well as toxic exposure risk activities.

The Board remands the claim for service connection for sleep apnea to obtain a medical opinion on the direct service connection theory.

The Board denied service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as it was not shown in service, is not causally or etiologically related to service, and was not caused by or permanently worsened in severity by a service-connected disability.

The Board granted service connection for geographic tongue and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as they had their onset during the Veteran's active service.

The Board granted service connection for bilateral tinnitus and denied a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss. The claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric condition and obstructive sleep apnea were remanded.

The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, a lower back disability, left knee disability, right knee disability, and right ankle post-traumatic arthritis.

The Board remands the claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea to obtain new VA medical opinions addressing direct service connection, secondary causation, toxic exposure risk activities, and secondary aggravation.

The appeal for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and a rating in excess of 10 percent disabling for tinnitus was dismissed, while the claims for service connection for intestinal polyps, headaches, an earlier effective date for hearing loss, and ratings higher than 10 percent for bilateral sensorineural hearing loss were denied. The Board also remanded several other claims including hypertension, psychiatric disability, TBI, and TDIU.

The Board denied the Veteran's appeal for an initial compensable evaluation for obstructive sleep apnea, as the evidence did not show persistent daytime hypersomnolence or use of a CPAP machine.

The Board remands the matter of entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) for further development, including obtaining a medical opinion on the relationship between the Veteran's service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder and obesity as an intermediate step in causing OSA, and whether the Veteran's OSA is related to toxic exposure risk activity during his service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations.

The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, resolving all reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran. The issues of entitlement to service connection for a respiratory condition and generalized joint pain were remanded.

The Board denied a disability rating in excess of 40 percent prior to January 23, 2017, for the Veteran's low back disability.

The Board remands the case to obtain a more adequate medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's pre-existing sleep apnea was aggravated by active service.

The Board denied service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), with an intermediate step of weight gain, and secondary to service-connected disabilities, including persistent depressive disorder.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, traumatic brain injury (TBI), seizures, neurocognitive disorder, and headache disorder to obtain a new VA examination and opinion.

The Board remands the claim for service connection of obstructive sleep apnea to obtain an addendum medical opinion addressing whether the Veteran's OSA is aggravated by his service-connected coronary artery disease and/or his bilateral foot disabilities, and addressing whether the Veteran's OSA and/or bilateral foot disabilities, either separately or in combination, caused him to become obese, or aggravated his obesity.

The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) secondary to the Veteran's service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The Board granted service connection for a lumbosacral condition, including lumbosacral strain, degenerative arthritis, and scoliosis, based on the evidence showing that these conditions began during the Veteran's active duty service.

The Board granted service connection for multiple conditions, including degenerative diseases of the cervical and lumbar spine, radiculopathies affecting various extremities, OSA, hepatic steatosis, and supraventricular arrhythmia.