Sleep apnea Board decisions

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current diagnosis of sleep apnea is causally related to his service-connected shoulder impingement syndrome with glenohumeral and acromioclavicular joint osteoarthritis, adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood, degenerative arthritis of the spine with spinal stenosis, and left lower extremity sciatica, radiculopathy. Therefore, service connection for sleep apnea is granted.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for kidney/renal condition (shunts) and respiratory disability other than obstructive sleep apnea (COPD), finding no new evidence to support these claims, and concluding that there is insufficient competent medical evidence to establish a relationship between any current disabilities and service.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to a lack of adequate medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's OSA is related to service or secondary to his diabetes. The AOJ must obtain an addendum opinion addressing these issues.

The Veteran's claim for an initial compensable rating for lumbosacral spine degenerative disc disease is being remanded due to a lack of adequate examination at the time of service connection.

The Board has decided to remand the case due to a lack of a TERA examination for OSA and an inadequate nexus opinion. The Veteran's service connection claim will be reconsidered with a focus on whether his OSA is related to in-service exposure to environmental contaminants, including burn pits.

The Board has remanded the case due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error and the need for additional medical opinions regarding the Veteran's sleep apnea, including whether it is related to service-connected PTSD or toxic exposure during service.

The Board has remanded the case to obtain a medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's OSA was aggravated by his PTSD, and if so, what role weight gain from PTSD played in causing or aggravating his OSA.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of service connection for low back disability, acquired psychiatric disability (unspecified depressive disorder and insomnia), and sleep apnea due to pre-decisional duty-to-assist errors. The issues will be reconsidered with additional medical opinions.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as secondary to his service-connected unspecified depressive disorder.

The appeal regarding the effective date for the award of service connection for obstructive sleep apnea is denied. The Veteran's claim for earlier effective date than May 12, 2020 for the award of service connection for obstructive sleep apnea is also denied.

The Veteran's service-connected conditions have rendered him unable to secure and maintain substantially gainful employment, leading to a grant of TDIU. Additionally, he is eligible for SMC at the housebound rate due to his psychiatric disorder.

The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), finding that it is proximately due to his service-connected psychiatric disorder, with obesity as an intermediate step.

The Veteran's OSA is found to be caused by his service-connected PTSD, and thus granted as secondary service connection.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for a lumbosacral strain (claimed as back pain), to include as secondary to his service-connected PTSD, is being remanded due to the inadequacy of the VA medical opinion and the need for an updated examination.

The Veteran's OSA was not diagnosed during service and there is no evidence to support a finding that it began in service. The Board found the Veteran's claim for service connection for OSA denied.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) first manifested during active service and is related to his military service, granting the claim for service connection.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for lumbosacral strain with spondylosis, arthritis, and disc degeneration and cervical spine spondylosis with moderate disc degeneration due to inadequate VA examination findings.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including obstructive sleep apnea and major depressive disorder, render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation. The Board finds that the evidence is in equipoise as to whether his service-connected conditions meet the criteria for TDIU.

The Board has decided to remand the claims for sinusitis and sleep apnea due to a need for a TERA examination and opinion, as the PACT Act was not in effect at the time of the previous decision.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's claims for service connection are remanded due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors, specifically regarding examinations and opinions related to his claimed conditions.