Sleep apnea Board decisions

The Board has determined that the Veteran submitted a timely substantive appeal for his claims of service connection for headaches, obstructive sleep apnea, coronary artery disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, osteoporosis, and depression. The issues are now remanded for further development.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for TDIU, finding that there was no ascertainable increase in disability during the one-year period prior to her December 13, 2017, filing.

The Board has granted service connection for right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, as due to a shell fragment wound to the right buttock. The claim for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is remanded.

The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection and increased ratings for bilateral hearing loss, coronary artery disease with stable angina, and PTSD with depressed mood and sleep impairment. The appeal for an increased rating for OSA is remanded. The TDIU claim is also remanded.

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, hypertension, or other conditions. The Veteran is seeking service connection for sleep apnea as secondary to his service-connected PTSD and/or hypertension.

The Veteran's hypertension and OSA are related to her service-connected musculoskeletal disabilities, with obesity as an intermediate step.

The Board denied service connection for obstructive sleep apnea and heart disorder due to lack of evidence showing the conditions began during or were related to service.,Specifically, the Veteran's current diagnoses were not linked to his military service.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient reasoning in the previous opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea. The examiner is requested to provide an addendum opinion addressing both direct service connection and secondary service connection.

The Board has remanded the cases for issuance of a Statement of the Case (SOC) as the Veteran's appeal was improperly docketed under the AMA system. The issues are now in an appellate posture where the Veteran is awaiting issuance of the SOC and filing of a substantive appeal.

The Board dismissed all the issues related to earlier effective dates for service connection and increased disability ratings, due to the Veteran's death.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection of sleep apnea, finding that there is no persuasive evidence linking his current condition to his military service.

The Veteran's sleep apnea is granted as secondary to a service-connected disability. The tremor disability (likely Parkinson's disease) is not found to be related to active service.

The Veteran's lung condition, sexual dysfunction, acquired psychiatric disorder, and OSA are all granted as service-connected.,Right ear hearing loss is denied.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims due to new evidence being added to his case file and a supplemental statement of the case not having been issued.

The Board has granted service connection for right hip osteoarthritis status post total replacement with femoral impingement syndrome and degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine with a lumbosacral strain, spondylosis, and scoliosis. Service connection for hypertension was denied.

The Veteran's claims of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, headaches, sleep apnea, breathing disability, deviated septum, tinnitus, and hypertension have been granted. The Board found new and material evidence to reopen these claims.

The Board has remanded the case due to conflicting medical evidence and a need for clarification on whether obesity, related to service-connected PTSD, is a substantial factor in causing OSA.

The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for left knee osteoarthritis was denied, but he received a TDIU effective from November 11, 2020.

The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected lumbar spine condition was denied as the evidence did not show that it is factually ascertainable that an increase in disability occurred prior to September 29, 2017.,The Veteran's claim for earlier effective date for service connection for bilateral hearing loss was dismissed because it raised a freestanding claim and there are no valid freestanding claims for earlier effective dates.,The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for left and right extremity radiculopathy was denied as the evidence did not show that it is factually ascertainable that the Veteran had symptoms of radiculopathy prior to September 29, 2017.

The Board has remanded the case due to ambiguities in the medical opinions and a need for further examination. The Veteran's sleep apnea claim is being reviewed, including whether it is secondary to his service-connected disabilities (PTSD, left shoulder rotator cuff tendonitis, residuals of left knee patellofemoral syndrome, and left knee instability associated with residuals of left knee patellofemoral syndrome).