Sleep apnea Board decisions

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea is secondary to his service-connected major depression disorder. The VA needs to obtain additional records and schedule an appropriate examination.

The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as incurred in service.,Right ear hearing loss is denied as not incurred or aggravated by service.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including verifying service records and scheduling a VA examination to determine if the Veteran's current obstructive sleep apnea disorder was incurred during his period of active duty in the Navy from 1957 to 1960.

The Board has decided that the Veteran's claims for sleep apnea and reopening of his atrial fibrillation and Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathy service connection claims need to be remanded due to additional VA treatment records not having been considered.

The Veteran's initial rating for service-connected lumbosacral spine DDD status-post fusion with scar was granted at a 40 percent disability level, effective from the date of service connection.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for sleep apnea and chronic fatigue syndrome have been denied as there is no evidence of these conditions during or since service, and the Board found that they are not related to service.,For his left shoulder strain, radiculopathy of the right lower extremity, and radiculopathy of the left lower extremity, the Veteran has been granted increased ratings. The eczema of face, chest, and scalp claim was denied as there is no evidence of a compensable disability. The appendectomy scar claim was also denied.

The Board has granted an effective date of October 25, 2010 for the grant of service connection for obstructive sleep apnea. The Veteran's claim was received by VA on that date.

The Veteran's claims for higher ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional examinations, consideration of new evidence, and clarification of etiology.

The Veteran's service connection claim for obstructive sleep apnea is denied, and an initial rating of 50% for migraines is granted.

The Veteran's hypertension is currently rated as 10 percent disabling. The Board has remanded the issues of entitlement to separate compensable ratings for erectile dysfunction and chest pain, and service connection for sleep apnea (claimed as sarcoidosis).

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a respiratory disorder, including obstructive sleep apnea. The decision found that the Veteran's current obstructive sleep apnea was not caused by his active duty service or due to environmental exposures like burn pits in Iraq. The claim was also denied as secondary to his service-connected PTSD.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to incomplete medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's sleep apnea is directly related to service and if it was caused or aggravated by his service-connected asthma.

The Veteran's claim for increased ratings and service connection for radiculopathy of the lower extremities, as well as TDIU, are remanded due to incomplete evaluations.

The Veteran's sleep apnea is found to be proximately due to, caused by and aggravated beyond its natural progression by his service-connected allergic rhinitis and chronic bronchitis.

The claim for service connection for high cholesterol has been dismissed.,The previously denied claim for service connection for a left ankle condition is reopened, but the new evidence does not meet the criteria for service connection.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's sleep apnea, specifically related to exposure during service and asbestos exposure.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea is proximately due to his service-connected other specified trauma and stressor related disorder, and thus grants service connection for this condition.

The Veteran's service-connected unspecified depressive disorder, obstructive sleep apnea, lumbar spine degenerative disc disease, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus are granted. The effective dates for these conditions remain at the date of receipt of the claim to reopen following the final denial in February 2006.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea, finding that there was no evidence of symptoms during service and noting that the condition was diagnosed 37 years after separation. The Board also found that the Veteran’s current sleep apnea is not related to exposure to asbestos or poor ventilation in service.

The Board has remanded the case for a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's sleep apnea. The current rating for bilateral hearing loss remains noncompensable.