Sleep apnea Board decisions

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including a neurological examination to assess the extent of his service-connected lumbar spine disability and associated neuropathy.

The Board has determined that the veteran's knee and lumbosacral strain conditions are appropriately rated, and no increased ratings are warranted.

The Board found that sinusitis was not incurred in or aggravated by the veteran's period of active duty and denied service connection for this condition.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for lumbosacral strain and bilateral hearing loss, finding no evidence of a chronic condition during service or related to service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including cervical spine strain with degenerative disc disease, thoracolumbosacral spine strain with degenerative changes, tension headaches, right upper and left upper extremity carpal tunnel syndromes, an acquired psychiatric disorder (including depression, dysthymia, and bipolar disorder), right shoulder disability, left shoulder disability, right knee disability, and right hip disability. The Board found that the veteran's pre-existing right knee disability was not aggravated by service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluations of his low back disability and a prior effective date for a skin disability. The low back disability was evaluated as 20 percent disabling, but the claim for an earlier effective date for tinea versicolor was not addressed.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for verification of the veteran's National Guard service dates, including active duty, ACDUTRA, and INACDUTRA.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, finding no current evidence of these disabilities and concluding that they were not related to his military service.

The Board granted the veteran's claims for increased ratings and TDIU, with a 40 percent rating assigned for his lumbosacral spine disorder prior to February 27, 2001.

The Board is remanding the case for further development, including a VA examination to determine if the veteran's current low back disability is related to his service.

The veteran's claims for increased evaluation of his service-connected lumbosacral strain and service connection for a cervical spine disability are being remanded due to the need for additional examinations.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical records and scheduling VA examinations to assess the severity of his PTSD and whether sleep apnea is secondary to his service-connected PTSD.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim for service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) due to new and material evidence. The claims for fibromyalgia, chronic lumbosacral spine strain, and acquired stenosis of the cervical spine are remanded for further development.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected lumbosacral strain is being remanded due to the unavailability of volume one of his claims file and the failure to provide copies of certain examination reports. The case will be reviewed again in light of any additional evidence obtained.

The Board has determined that the veteran's low back disability warrants a 20 percent rating, effective December 13, 1999.

The Board granted a 40 percent evaluation for the veteran's service-connected lumbosacral strain, effective from December 17, 2007. The rating is based on severe limitation of motion of the lumbar spine.

The Board has granted a 40 percent rating for the service-connected lumbosacral strain with degenerative joint disease, effective from December 31, 2003.

The veteran's visual acuity is not a disease for VA compensation benefits.,Service connection for headaches and residuals of an eye injury was denied in April 1977, and no new material evidence has been received since then. The claim remains denied.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for sleep apnea, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, and a rating in excess of 30 percent for PTSD. The preponderance of evidence did not support these claims.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his degenerative joint disease of the cervical and lumbosacral spines, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating under VA's rating criteria.