The Board denied the Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, finding that his lumbar spine disability did not warrant a rating in excess of 10 percent, and that there was insufficient evidence to support service connection or secondary service connection for sleep apnea or TMJ.
The deciding factor: The clinical findings did not show functional impairment comparable to the criteria required for higher ratings under Diagnostic Codes 4.71a (General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine) and 5243 (Formula for Rating Intervertebral Disc Syndrome Based on Incapacitating Episodes).
- Claimed conditions
- sleep apnea, temporomandibular malfunction of the jaw (TMJ), degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- January 4, 2018
- Citation
- 1800446
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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 1800446.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a direct service connection opinion and an adequate secondary service connection aggravation opinion.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for asthma and remanded claims for insomnia and sleep apnea. Other conditions were denied.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including sinusitis, elbows condition, cervical condition, erectile dysfunction, kidney condition, sleep apnea, wrists condition, asthma, shoulders condition, ankles condition, eye condition (bilateral dry macular degeneration), peripheral vascular disease (heart condition), and rhinitis.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for sleep apnea is dismissed as the benefit sought has been granted, making the case moot.
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