Sleep apnea Board decisions

The Board has decided to remand the case due to a duty to assist error in the February 2021 rating decision, where the opinion did not address relevant evidence and failed to provide an adequate rationale for its conclusion.

The Veteran's claims for diabetes mellitus, obstructive sleep apnea, cold weather injury such as frostbite of the upper and lower extremities, and headaches have been denied due to a lack of current diagnoses.

The Veteran's service connection for hemorrhoids is granted, while his claims for bilateral eye refractive error and obstructive sleep apnea are denied.

The Board has denied service connection for gout, sleep apnea, and bilateral hearing loss. The Veteran's claims are being remanded to obtain a medical opinion regarding the etiology of his bilateral hearing loss.,Service connection is not granted for gout, sleep apnea, or bilateral hearing loss as there is no evidence of in-service injury or disease that could be related to these conditions.

The Board has remanded the claim for service connection of OSA as secondary to service-connected disabilities due to insufficient medical nexus opinions.

Your secondary service connection claim for sleep apnea has been dismissed because your primary service connection was granted in a previous decision.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the Veteran's sleep apnea and its relationship to service, PTSD, and obesity.

The Board has determined that there were pre-decisional duty to assist errors and remands the cases for further development.

Effective dates of June 6, 2014, and no earlier, have been granted for service connection for lumbosacral spine strain with degenerative arthritis, cervical spine strain, degenerative arthritis, and intervertebral disc syndrome, and PTSD.

The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for his service-connected sleep apnea (to include bronchial asthma) is denied as the claim was not received prior to November 22, 2019, and the September 2011 Board decision dismissing issues of increased rating and earlier effective date for bronchial asthma became final.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), finding that it likely began during active military service.

The Board has awarded service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and the appeal is dismissed as there remains no case or controversy.

The Board has denied the claim for service connection of OSA as secondary to tinnitus, finding that there is no causal or aggravating link between the two conditions.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as there is no persuasive evidence that his current condition began during or was caused by his military service.

The Veteran's initial claim for a higher rating for lumbosacral strain prior to February 16, 2021 was denied. From February 16, 2021, the claim for an increased rating was also denied.

The Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral strain is currently rated at 10 percent, and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted based on the evidence of record.

The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeal regarding service connection for hypertension as it was already granted in a previous decision. The claim for service connection for sleep apnea is denied because there is no evidence linking the condition to service or a service-connected disability.

The Veteran's service-connected low back, bilateral hip, and unspecified anxiety disorder are found to have caused his obesity, which as likely as not caused his sleep apnea. Service connection for sleep apnea is granted.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings have been resolved by prior Board decisions, and the issue of entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 10 percent from September 8, 2009 through August 1, 2016 and in excess of 40 percent from August 2, 2016 for service-connected degenerative lumbar spine with degenerative disc disease and spinal stenosis is dismissed. The Veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for obstructive sleep apnea has been denied due to the improper assignment of a pre-aggravation baseline.

The Veteran's bilateral pes planus is granted service connection based on aggravation during active duty. Service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and type II diabetes mellitus is denied as there is no evidence of manifestation within the presumptive period.