The Veteran's service-connected obstructive sleep apnea is granted as secondary to his service-connected chronic pulmonary condition.,The Veteran's service-connected depression is granted as related to his service-connected disabilities.,An earlier effective date of June 4, 2013 for the grant of service connection for tinnitus is granted.,An earlier effective date of November 23, 2009 for the grant of service connection for a chronic pulmonary condition with restrictive and obstructive lung disease is granted.,The Veteran's claim for higher disability evaluation for bilateral hearing loss is remanded.,The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for a 10% disability evaluation for service-connected bilateral hearing loss is remanded.,The Veteran's potential eligibility under 38 C.F.R. § 3.324 is inextricably intertwined with the increased rating claims and will be addressed on remand.
The deciding factor: Reasonable doubt was resolved in favor of the Veteran, who has service-connected obstructive sleep apnea that is at least as likely as not aggravated by his service-connected chronic pulmonary condition.,Reasonable doubt was resolved in favor of the Veteran, who has service-connected depression that is at least as likely as not related to his service-connected disabilities.,The RO granted entitlement to service connection for tinnitus effective June 4, 2013, based on a claim filed by the Veteran.,The RO granted entitlement to service connection for a chronic pulmonary condition with restrictive and obstructive lung disease effective November 23, 2009, based on a claim filed by the Veteran.,The disability evaluation for bilateral hearing loss will be determined after assigning initial ratings for other disabilities.,An earlier effective date of June 4, 2013 is granted as this was when the Veteran's claim for increased evaluation for hearing loss was received.,The eligibility under 38 C.F.R. § 3.324 will be addressed after assigning initial ratings for other disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- obstructive sleep apnea, depression
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 10, 2018
- Citation
- 18141218
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 18141218.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining in-service psychiatric treatment records and scheduling a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of any acquired psychiatric disorder.
- 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.
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