The Board has denied service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as it is not shown to be causally or etiologically related to any disease, injury, or incident during service and was not caused or aggravated by a service-connected disability. The low back disorder, right shoulder disorder, bilateral hearing loss, urinary disorder, and prostate cancer claims are remanded for further development.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there is no evidence of treatment or diagnoses of any sleep related disorders for many years following service, presumptive service connection is not applicable, and the Veteran's lay assertions were not supported by medical evidence. The appeal fails on this final element.
- Claimed conditions
- obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), low back disorder, right shoulder disorder, bilateral hearing loss, urinary disorder, prostate cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 10, 2019
- Citation
- 19102850
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,188 · Granted: 23% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19102850.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss claim, specifically needing an addendum opinion from a VA examiner. The Veteran will be asked to provide any missing records and former employers' information.
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