Sleep apnea decisions — 2025

The Board remands the claim for a rating in excess of 20 percent for service-connected lumbosacral strain to afford the Veteran an additional examination where the ameliorative effects of his prescription and topical medications are not considered when evaluating the severity of the disability.

The Board remands all service connection claims for further development and to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error.

The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) secondary to a service-connected thyroid condition.

The Board granted service connection for pes planus with plantar fascia pathology, denied an earlier effective date for hemorrhoids, and granted a February 13, 2019 effective date for obstructive sleep apnea.

The Board granted service connection for lumbar spine intervertebral disc syndrome, spondylolysis, loss of vertebral body height, and retrolisthesis; right knee strain residuals and osteoarthritis; left knee strain residuals and meniscal tear residuals; and obstructive sleep apnea.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to service-connected bilateral hearing loss or tinnitus and based on toxic exposure risk activity (TERA) due to pre-decisional errors by the AOJ.

The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected insomnia, resolving any reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran.

The Board dismissed the issues of entitlement to service connection for sleep apnea and sleep disturbances due to a procedural defect.

The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected bilateral pes planus and plantar fasciitis, bilateral ankle arthritis, and bilateral knee arthritis.

The Board granted earlier effective dates for the awards of service connection for PTSD and residuals of a TBI, to include migraine headaches, but denied earlier effective dates for lumbosacral strain, cervical DDD, right upper extremity radiculopathy associated with cervical DDD, and left upper extremity radiculopathy associated with cervical DDD.

The Board denied an increased rating in excess of 60 percent for asthma with obstructive sleep apnea as the evidence did not support a higher disability rating.

The appeal for the issues of service connection for various conditions and TDIU was dismissed due to the lack of new and relevant evidence within one year of the final legacy rating decisions.

The Board denied service connection for right ear hearing loss, left ear hearing loss, sleep apnea, and depression to include alcohol abuse and memory loss. The back condition, left knee joint pain, and right knee joint pain were remanded for further examination.

The Board granted service connection for sleep apnea, right foot disability (pes planus and plantar fasciitis), left foot disability (pes planus and plantar fasciitis), lumbar strain, right shoulder tendinopathy, left shoulder tendinopathy, right hand tendinopathy, and left hand tendinopathy on a direct basis.

The Board remands the claim for an adequate medical opinion to determine if the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea is caused or aggravated by his service-connected disabilities, with obesity as an intermediate step.

The Board granted service connection for tinnitus, a deltoid sprain of the left foot, and lumbosacral strain but denied service connection for residuals of a fracture to the right index finger and left and right shoulder disabilities.

The Board remands the claim for service connection for sleep apnea to address a theory of entitlement reasonably raised by the record.

The Board granted service connection for left knee strain, right knee strain, right shoulder impingement syndrome, left hip strain, right hip strain, and lumbosacral strain based on the evidence of record.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for an initial compensable rating for headaches and service connection for concussion, but remanded the claim for service connection for lumbosacral strain.

The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected sinusitis, but denied an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for rhinitis.