The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are denied. The Board finds no evidence of a current disability that would warrant the assigned rating.
The deciding factor: There is no competent medical evidence showing any current disability related to sleep apnea, urinary incontinence, neuropathy, headaches, bowel dysfunction, impotence, or optic atrophy as claimed by the Veteran. The VA examinations and treatment records do not support a finding of service connection for these conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Sleep Apnea, Urinary Incontinence (residual of Multiple Sclerosis), Neuropathy of the Right Upper Extremity (residual of Multiple Sclerosis), Neuropathy of the Left Upper Extremity (residual of Multiple Sclerosis), Neuropathy of the Right Lower Extremity with Disturbances in Gait and Balance (residual of Multiple Sclerosis), Neuropathy of the Left Lower Extremity with Disturbances in Gait and Balance (residual of Multiple Sclerosis), Headaches, residual of Multiple Sclerosis, Bowel Dysfunction, residual of Multiple Sclerosis, Impotence, residual of Multiple Sclerosis, Optic Atrophy of the Left Eye (residual of Multiple Sclerosis)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- September 15, 2017
- Citation
- 1739514
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1739514.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for sleep apnea, finding that the evidence did not support a link between the condition and service.
- Whole decision: Denied
The claims for PTSD, an acquired psychiatric disorder, memory loss/memory problems, chronic fatigue, sleep difficulties/sleep disturbances, and sleep apnea have been denied. The claim for service connection for residuals of testicular denervation and varicosectomy has been granted.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Veteran's asthma is currently rated at 30 percent, and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.,The Veteran's sleep apnea claim has been remanded due to duty-to-assist errors.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's appeal for increased ratings and service connection claims have been denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating for PTSD, denied service connection for CFS, mast cell activation syndrome, and sleep apnea as secondary to PTSD, and remanded TDIU.
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