Sleep apnea Board decisions

The Veteran's claims for service connection were denied, and the Board found that new and material evidence had not been received to reopen the claim for congestive cardiomyopathy. The other issues related to exposure to herbicide agents or diabetes mellitus type II were also denied.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for sleep apnea, respiratory disability (sinusitis, asthma), and left knee disability. The appeal is REMANDED to obtain additional medical records and schedule VA examinations.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current obstructive sleep apnea, left heel spur, and right heel spur are related to his active service. The claims for service connection have been granted.

The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding of service connection for either sleep disorder or stomach disorder, as there was no competent evidence linking these conditions to service.

The Veteran's service connection claims for TBI, bilateral foot and ankle disabilities, sleep apnea, and right hip disability are all granted.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including new VA examinations to assess the severity of his lumbosacral spine disorder, right shoulder disorder, and right ankle disorder.

The Board has granted service connection for depression, right shoulder disability, OSA, and alcohol dependence as due to PTSD. Service connection was denied for pes planus, right ankle disability, left ankle disability, and back disability (scoliosis).

The Board has determined that the Veteran's GERD and sleep apnea may be related to service, but a new VA examination is needed to provide an opinion on this issue.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the issues of service connection for dizziness, sleep apnea, headaches, and COPD, all to include as due to herbicide agent exposure.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, finding that there was no evidence of any unadjudicated formal or informal claim for a sleep disability prior to July 19, 2011.

The Board denied the Veteran's claim of service connection for a bilateral lower extremity condition, to include radiculopathy and neuropathy. The disorder was held not to have been clinically established or diagnosed.,The Veteran's claims for obstructive sleep apnea and bronchial asthma are pending as they may be related to exposure to chemical and environmental hazards during the Gulf War.

The Board has found that the Veteran's left knee disability is as likely as not related to his active service, and thus grants service connection for a left knee disability. The issue of sleep apnea remains pending.

The Veteran's claims for effective dates prior to August 23, 2008 for service connection of various conditions were denied as the disabilities preexisted his final period of active duty service and are not shown to have been aggravated during that time.,All awards of service connection and SMC based on these conditions were assigned an effective date of August 23, 2008.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and providing the Veteran with a statement of the case on his service connection claims.

The Veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection for a bilateral eye condition.

The Veteran is not entitled to a TDIU from October 10, 2014 to January 2, 2015 because the service-connected PTSD alone does not meet the criteria for a TDIU as he was already receiving a 100% disability rating for this condition. The other service-connected conditions do not provide additional unemployability.

The Board found that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not render her unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation, thus denying her claim for TDIU.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea has been granted. The claims for increased ratings for right and left knees are pending.

The Veteran's claims are being remanded for additional examinations to determine the severity of his service-connected disabilities and for proper rating determinations.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining private sleep study records and scheduling the Veteran for a VA examination to determine if his sleep apnea is related to service.