The Board has ordered a remand to obtain medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea, left ear eustachian tube dysfunction, and perforated ear drum. The current VA examinations are inadequate as they do not address the significance of the Veteran's reports of sleep problems in service or provide rationale for their opinion.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions provided by the VA examiners are insufficient due to a lack of discussion regarding the Veteran's reported sleep problems during service and an absence of rationale for their conclusions.
- Claimed conditions
- obstructive sleep apnea, left ear eustachian tube dysfunction, perforated ear drum, left ear
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 12, 2018
- Citation
- 1809056
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 1809056.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, finding that there is no competent evidence to support a finding that his current condition began in or as a result of service.
- Denied
The Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA) has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as there is no current diagnosis of this condition during the appeal period.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper extremities, and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions to his active service or any related exposure.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for hypertension and obstructive sleep apnea, finding that the evidence did not support a direct relationship to service or toxic exposure. The Veteran's claims were based on his participation in TERA activities during service.
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