Sleep apnea Board decisions

The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, including major depressive disorder and alcohol use disorder, as well as his obstructive sleep apnea are granted service connection. The rating for bilateral pes planus with plantar fasciitis remains at 50 percent.

The Veteran's left thigh liposarcoma is currently rated at 10 percent since September 1, 2019. The Board has remanded the case for a new examination to determine the current severity of his condition and whether he should be entitled to higher ratings or SMC based on housebound criteria.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, restoration of ratings for knee instability, and a rating in excess of 10% for right hip strain with trochanteric pain syndrome are denied. The Veteran's claim for increased ratings for right and left knee instability is granted with respect to the 10% ratings since October 9, 2024.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate opinions and a failure to consider certain theories of service connection. The Veteran's sleep apnea claim will be reconsidered with new medical opinions addressing the relationship between his PTSD, alcohol use, and toxic exposure risk activity during service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea is denied. The Board finds the VA examination report incomplete and remands the case for a new examination to determine the etiology of the Veteran's sleep disabilities.

The Board has granted service connection for headaches, but the claims for a neck disorder and OSA are remanded due to duty-to-assist deficiencies.

Entitlement to service connection for hematuria (claimed as kidney condition) is dismissed.,Entitlement to service connection for lower back condition is dismissed.,Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus is dismissed.,Entitlement to service connection for mood disorder is denied.,Entitlement to service connection for cervical spine condition is denied.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings of right and left lower extremity femoral nerve radiculopathy, as well as lumbosacral spondylosis of L5-S1 with arthritis, are being remanded due to the need to obtain VA treatment records dated since March 2020.

The Veteran's appeal for an increased rating for allergic rhinitis and service connection for sleep apnea has been dismissed. The Board also granted TDIU from February 1, 2023.

The Board has granted the restoration of service connection for OSA, effective August 1, 2020, finding that severance was improper due to conflicting evidence regarding whether OSA is directly related to military service.

The Veteran's appeal for service connection for right hip, right shoulder, bilateral hearing loss, and sleep apnea has been dismissed as the Veteran withdrew his appeal.

The Board denied service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and a compensable disability rating for hypertension, finding that the evidence did not support a link between these conditions and the Veteran's military service or any service-connected disabilities.

The Board has denied service connection for COPD, OSA, and insomnia. The claims of service connection for OSA and insomnia are remanded due to a pre-decisional error.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to his service-connected PTSD, finding that there is insufficient evidence to establish a causal link between the two conditions.

The Board has granted earlier effective dates of April 16, 2021 for the grants of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability and a low back disability.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the relationship between the Veteran's sleep apnea and his service-connected PTSD, as well as the need for a TERA examination to assess whether the Veteran's sleep apnea is related to his military service.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to a failure to obtain a VA medical opinion addressing in-service toxic exposure risk activities (TERAs) that may be related to the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea. The examiner must consider the total potential exposure and the synergistic combined effect of all toxic risk activities.

The Board has dismissed the appeal for an increased rating of service-connected right knee strain with tendonitis, meniscal tear and chondromalacia patella, with arthritis. The issue of entitlement to service connection for sleep apnea, claimed as secondary to post traumatic stress disorder, is remanded.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for lumbosacral strain with degenerative arthritis and congenital levoscoliosis of the lumbar spine was denied. The case is remanded due to the need for further evaluation.

The Veteran is already receiving TDIU benefits from November 17, 2015. The Board finds that he was unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation due to his service-connected disabilities prior to March 21, 2013.