Sleep apnea decisions — 2025

The Board remands the claim for a lower back condition to obtain an adequate medical opinion addressing whether the Veteran's pre-existing lower back disorder was clearly and unmistakably not aggravated by service.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for lumbosacral strain with intervertebral disc syndrome and bilateral plantar fasciitis to obtain additional evidence and an adequate medical opinion.

The case is being remanded to obtain additional medical records and evidence related to the Veteran's claim for a temporary total rating.

The Board remands the claims for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and hypertension, to include as secondary to a service-connected tonsil disability, for an adequate addendum opinion.

The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor and finding that his OSA was caused or aggravated by his service-connected diabetes and diabetic neuropathy.

The Board granted service connection for chronic lumbosacral strain and denied service connection for left knee, right knee, left shoulder, right shoulder, and right ear hearing loss conditions.

The Board granted service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected depressive disorder with insomnia.

The Board granted service connection for sleep apnea, finding that the Veteran's sleep apnea is aggravated by his service-connected tinnitus.

The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and bilateral tinnitus, finding that the evidence was at least evenly balanced as to whether these conditions had their onset in service.

The appeal of entitlement to service connection for asthma, sleep apnea, sleep disturbances, and anxiety condition was dismissed due to a concurrent election of review mechanisms that is prohibited.

The Board remands the claim for service connection for sleep apnea to obtain an addendum opinion regarding whether the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea constitutes part of a medically unexplained chronic multi-symptom illness (MUCMI).

The Board remands the claims for a higher rating in various service-connected conditions due to deficiencies in VA examinations and medical opinions.

The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) secondary to sinusitis due to a duty to assist error, requiring additional evidence and a new medical opinion.

The Board remands the claim for a new VA examination to address whether the Veteran's sleep apnea is secondary to his service-connected heart disabilities, including recurrent ventricular tachycardia and myocardial infarctions with unstable angina.

The Veteran was granted a total rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities from April 19, 2021, to December 6, 2022.

The Board granted service connection for generalized anxiety disorder and denied service connection for PTSD, as well as a higher rating for the right knee disability.

The Board granted an initial rating of 20 percent for left lower extremity radiculopathy but denied a higher rating and also denied a rating in excess of 20 percent for lumbosacral strain with degenerative disc disease.

The Board remands the Veteran's claim for a higher rating for lumbosacral strain to correct a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error, specifically related to an examination that was not conducted due to the Veteran's no-show.

The Board remands the claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error, as the September 2022 VA examination is deemed inadequate.

The Board denied the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of lumbosacral strain, finding no evidence that a formal or informal claim was filed prior to October 14, 2022.