The Board denied the Veteran's claims of service connection for sleep apnea, finding that there was no direct or secondary service connection due to inconsistent statements and conflicting medical opinions regarding the onset and cause of his sleep apnea.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of evidence did not support a finding of direct or secondary service connection for sleep apnea.
- Claimed conditions
- Sleep Apnea, Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- May 17, 2018
- Citation
- 18103211
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 18103211.
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: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) is being remanded due to a failure to provide the Veteran with a VA examination in connection with her claim. The Board finds that this was a pre-decisional duty to assist error and requires rescheduling of the examination.
- 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.
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