The Veteran's claim for a rating in excess of 50 percent for service-connected sleep apnea with asthma (claimed as shortness of breath) is denied. The issues of initial compensable ratings for chronic allergic eustachian tube dysfunction/blockage and migraine headaches are remanded.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not meet the criteria for a rating in excess of 50 percent for sleep apnea with asthma, which requires persistent daytime hypersomnolence or use of a breathing assistance device such as a CPAP machine.
- Claimed conditions
- Asthma, Sleep Apnea
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 14, 2019
- Citation
- 19136874
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,820 · Granted: 26% (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 19136874.
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.
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- Denied
The Veteran's asthma is currently rated as 10 percent disabling, and the Board finds that this rating adequately compensates his service-connected condition.
- 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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