Sleep apnea decisions — 2025

The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, finding that the Veteran's obesity, caused by his service-connected disabilities, was a substantial factor in causing the claimed secondary disability.

The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected foot, back, and sciatica disabilities via obesity as an intermediate step.

The veteran withdrew the appeal for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea.

The appeal of the January 2024 proposal to reduce the disability rating from 30 percent disabling to 10 percent for coronary artery disease is dismissed. The Board also denied service connection for various conditions, including chronic fatigue syndrome and posttraumatic stress disorder with traumatic brain injury residuals.

The appeal for service connection of sleep apnea, including as due to a service-connected disability, is remanded for further development.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for asthma and obstructive sleep apnea due to insufficient evidence of toxic exposures during service.

The Board remands the claim for an addendum opinion to determine if the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea is related to his service-connected disabilities, including obesity as an intermediate step.

The Board remands the claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea to obtain private medical records and a VA examination, as required by the PACT Act.

The appeal of the issue of entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, to include as secondary to service-connected hypertension, was dismissed due to a claims processing defect.

The Board granted an initial evaluation of 50 percent for obstructive sleep apnea, as the Veteran's condition requires the use of a breathing assistance device such as a CPAP.

The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, denied increased ratings for the right foot stress fracture and scars, restored a 40% rating for lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis, and denied earlier effective dates for TDIU and DEA. The Board remanded claims for service connection for a gastrointestinal disability and increased evaluations for the low back and bilateral lower extremity radiculopathy.

The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as secondary to the Veteran's already service-connected foot and hip disorders, with obesity as an intermediate step.

The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected PTSD.

The Board dismissed the appeal for higher disability evaluations for multiple conditions due to a prohibited concurrent election under the modernized review system.

The Board remands the claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea to readjudicate it based on new evidence submitted by the Veteran.

The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, diabetes mellitus, type II, right hip osteoarthritis, left hip osteoarthritis, and right knee disability. These conditions are causally related to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities with obesity as an intermediate step.

The Board granted service connection for allergic rhinitis and sleep apnea, to include as secondary to PTSD. The claim for a low back disability was denied, and the claims for GERD were remanded.

The Board dismissed the appeals for service connection for cervical spine disability, right and left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and migraine headaches. The appeal as to OSA was granted in full.

The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities, resolving all doubt in favor of the Veteran.

The Board denied service connection for various disabilities, including cervical spine, back, shoulder, elbow, wrist, vertigo, and hypothyroidism, as there was no evidence of an in-service event, injury, illness, or disease related to these disabilities. The claim for a sleep apnea disability was also denied due to the lack of a current diagnosis.