The Veteran's claims for service connection for loss of sense of taste and a sleep disorder, to include sleep apnea, are being remanded due to inadequate medical opinions. A new VA examination is needed to determine the etiology of these conditions.
The deciding factor: The previous VA opinions were not completely adequate with respect to determining the etiology of the Veteran's loss of sense of taste and a sleep disorder, to include sleep apnea.
- Claimed conditions
- loss of sense of taste, sleep disorder, to include sleep apnea
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 29, 2019
- Citation
- 19133071
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,199 · Granted: 25% (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 19133071.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection for loss of sense of taste, loss of sense of smell, and pelvic condition are denied. The claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder beyond unspecified trauma and stressor related disorder is also denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's tinnitus had onset during active duty service and is granted. The claims for TBI, migraines as secondary to TBI, an eye disability as secondary to TBI, anosmia as secondary to TBI, loss of sense of taste as secondary to TBI, athlete's foot, ingrown toenails, foot pain, joint pain, low back disability, and acne are remanded due to the need for additional examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection on multiple conditions have been remanded due to the submission of new evidence after a prior denial. The Board finds that VA examinations and medical opinions are necessary to properly determine entitlement to service connection.
- Granted
The Board granted an initial disability rating of 10 percent for loss of sense of smell and taste, as the Veteran's reports were found to be credible.
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