The Veteran's extreme cough and sleep disorder are remanded for additional development, including obtaining medical opinions to address the nature and etiology of these conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA examinations did not adequately address whether the Veteran’s symptoms represent an objective indication of a chronic disability attributable to an undiagnosed illness or medically unexplained chronic multi-symptom illness related to his Gulf War service, nor did they consider the impact of obesity on his sleep apnea.
- Claimed conditions
- Extreme cough, Sleep disorder (including sleep apnea)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 30, 2021
- Citation
- 21026239
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 21026239.
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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- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied a compensable initial disability rating for left ear hearing loss and remanded the issues of service connection for memory loss disorder, sleep disorder (including sleep apnea), eye disorder, thyroid disorder, and left shoulder disorder. The appeal is now pending again with the AOJ.
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The Board has denied an initial rating in excess of 20 percent for the Veteran's lumbar spine disability prior to October 11, 2018. The Board has also remanded the issue of service connection for a sleep disorder, including sleep apnea.
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The Veteran's claims for higher ratings for GERD and left forearm and elbow disability are being remanded due to deficiencies in the VA examinations conducted.,The Veteran's claims for service connection for a sleep disorder, left shoulder disability, hypertension, and erectile dysfunction are also being remanded as addendum opinions were inadequate.,The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for major depression is being remanded due to its inextricability with the service connection claim for a sleep disorder.
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