Sleep apnea Board decisions

The Board denied the veteran's claim for assistance in acquiring specially adapted housing or a home adaptation grant, finding that his loss of use of one lower extremity and related disabilities did not preclude locomotion without aid of braces, crutches, canes, or wheelchair.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for primary and secondary service connection for his skin disorder, as well as a claim for an increased rating for his lumbosacral strain. The decision also noted that the veteran's plantar calluses of both feet are caused by his service-connected lumbosacral strain.

The Board denied an increased rating for the veteran's degenerative spondyloarthrosis of the lumbosacral spine, finding that the evidence did not support a higher evaluation.

The veteran has withdrawn their appeal, citing no specific issues or conditions for further consideration.

The veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA records and scheduling examinations to assess the severity of her lumbosacral strain and gastroenteritis. Service connection claims are also pending.

The veteran's initial evaluations for his low back disorder and right knee disorders have been denied as the evidence does not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation.

The Board found that the veteran's service-connected nasal injury with deviated septum has aggravated his sleep apnea. The claim for bilateral hearing loss disability is not well-grounded due to lack of evidence showing a compensable degree of hearing loss within one year after separation from service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased evaluations for retropatellar arthralgia of the right knee, lumbosacral strain, and major depression.

The Board denied service connection for DJD of the lumbar spine and loss of bladder control as secondary to the service-connected back disorder. The veteran's tinnitus was not addressed in this decision, but is related to his service-connected lumbosacral strain.

The Board granted a rating of 60 percent for the veteran's service-connected intervertebral disc disease of the lumbar spine with radiculopathy, finding that it more closely approximates the criteria for a 60 percent evaluation.

The veteran's lumbosacral strain and traumatic arthritis are currently rated as 20 percent disabling, and the residuals of a fracture of the left femur with shortening, anterior bowing, and varus deformity are also rated at 30 percent.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for chronic lumbosacral strain is denied as the evidence does not show that his disability meets or approximates the criteria for a higher evaluation.

The Board has granted increased ratings for the veteran's service-connected lumbosacral strain and hypertensive cardiovascular disease, but denied an increase in rating for chronic bilateral iritis.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims for increased evaluations for optic neuritis of the left eye and lumbosacral strain have been denied as there is no evidence to support ratings in excess of 10 percent.

The veteran's claim for an increased rating for his service-connected lumbosacral strain with disc disease is being remanded due to the need for additional development of medical records.

The Board has granted service connection for chronic right knee strain and a 10 percent rating for lumbosacral strain, effective from November 14, 1995.

The Board dismissed a claim of entitlement to increased evaluation for service connected arthritis of the lumbosacral spine on the grounds that a timely substantive appeal had not been filed.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claims for increased evaluations of his lumbosacral strain and adjustment disorder with anxiety and depression are not supported by the evidence, as the current disability picture does not meet the criteria for a higher evaluation under the applicable rating criteria.

The Board denied service connection for PTSD and did not address the claim of increased rating for degenerative arthritis of the lumbosacral spine with radiculitis to the right hip as it was not raised in this appeal.

The veteran's claim for a higher disability rating for her lumbosacral strain was granted, with the effective date being June 2, 1997.,Prior to June 2, 1997, the veteran had a 10 percent disability rating.