The Veteran's claims for service connection for straightening of the lordosis, sleep apnea, dermatitis, and syncope were denied. The Board found that new evidence did not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating these claims.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner determined that the Veteran’s sleep apnea was not related to his military service or Gulf War exposure due to lack of medical literature supporting an etiologic link between exposure and sleep apnea, and because it had a clear specific diagnosis unrelated to any specific exposure event in Southwest Asia.
- Claimed conditions
- straightening of the lordosis, sleep apnea, dermatitis, syncope
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 18, 2018
- Citation
- 18159209
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 18159209.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea, finding that there was no evidence of a chronic disease manifesting within one year after service and concluding that the current disability is not related to his in-service deviated septum.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development regarding the Veteran's claim of service connection for sleep apnea. The Veteran will be provided with a VA examination to determine if his current sleep disorder is related to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the issue of service connection for sleep apnea due to insufficient medical opinions and need for further development.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the claims for sleep apnea and an increased disability rating for diabetes mellitus, type II.
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