Sleep apnea Board decisions

The Board has determined that the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea is related to service and grants service connection for this condition. The gastrointestinal and/or abdominal disability, including the residuals of ventral hernias and GERD, are also granted as they are considered direct service-connected based on evidence showing their onset during service.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including issuance of Statements of the Case and scheduling a videoconference hearing. The issues include rating an increased disability for bilateral pes planus, service connection for various disabilities, and review of a reduction in rating for plantar fasciitis.

The Board found no evidence of a chronic lumbosacral spine disability in service and denied the Veteran's claim for service connection.

The Board has granted service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities and assigned a noncompensable rating. The Veteran's right upper and left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy are each rated at 10 percent.

The Veteran's currently diagnosed obstructive sleep apnea is found to be etiologically related to service, thus granting the claim for service connection.

The Veteran's depression is service connected as secondary to his service-connected back and lower extremity disabilities. His tinnitus, sleep apnea, high cholesterol, asthma, and hypertension are not service connected.

The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete medical records and the need for a VA examination to determine if sleep apnea is related to service, as well as an evaluation of the Veteran's lumbar strain.

The RO denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea and discontinued her separate rating of 10 percent for irritable colon syndrome, finding that there was CUE in the September 2010 decision. The RO also did not certify this issue to the Board.

The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for lumbosacral strain and neurological manifestations of the left and right lower extremities are being remanded due to the need for additional examinations and development.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining Social Security Administration records and scheduling a VA examination to address the relationship between his service-connected conditions and asbestos exposure.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for further development, including scheduling VA examinations to evaluate his service-connected asthma and bilateral retinitis pigmentosa. The issues of increased ratings for these conditions are on appeal.

The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, left heel spur, and right heel spur. The Veteran's current conditions are found to be related to his active duty service.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim of service connection for a disability manifested by sleep disturbance (claimed as obstructive sleep apnea) due to new and material evidence received since the January 1999 rating decision. The Veteran now has objective medical indications of a current diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea, which may be related to his military service.

The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim of service connection for degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine and related cervical and thoracic spines. The case is remanded to schedule a VA examination and readjudicate the claims.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's sleep apnea was not present during service, is not otherwise related to service, and is not secondary to a service-connected disability. Therefore, the claim for service connection for sleep apnea is denied.

The Veteran's service-connected low back disability is not productive of limitation of flexion to 60 degrees or less, a combined range of motion of the thoracolumbar spine not greater than 120 degrees, muscle spasm or guarding severe enough to result in an abnormal gait or spinal contour such as scoliosis, reversed lordosis, or abnormal kyphosis, ankylosis of any kind, neurologic impairment, or incapacitating episodes having a total duration of at least two weeks but less than four weeks during the past twelve months. As such, the criteria for an evaluation in excess of 10 percent have not been met.

The Veteran's lumbosacral strain was rated at 40 percent effective June 7, 2011. Effective April 15, 2008, he is also service-connected for peripheral neuropathy of the right and left lower extremities.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) originated during his active naval service and granted service connection for OSA.

The Board finds that the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea is at least as likely as not related to his service-connected deviated nasal septum with resultant septo-rhinoplasty and allergic rhinitis, and grants service connection for this condition.

The Board has determined that the April 2012 rating decision is deficient and requires additional development, including obtaining medical records, contacting the Veteran for outstanding evidence, and providing a VA examination to address the Veteran's claims.