The Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea is found to have begun during service and has continued since then, warranting service connection.,A VA examination is needed to determine the current severity of the Veteran's depressive disorder.,A VA examination is needed to assess the current level of severity of any diagnosed bilateral hearing loss or tinnitus disability.,The etiology of the Veteran's diabetes mellitus and its relationship to his lumbar spine disability need to be determined through a VA examination.,The etiology of the Veteran's hypertension and its relationship to his lumbar spine disability needs to be determined through a VA examination.,A VA examination is needed to determine whether the Veteran's bilateral foot disability is related to service, with consideration given to weight gain as an intermediary factor.,An appropriate VA examination is required to assess the etiology of the Veteran's right elbow disability and its relationship to his lumbar spine disability.
The deciding factor: The evidence shows that the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea began during service and has continued since then, meeting the criteria for direct service connection.,A VA examination is needed as there is no recent medical opinion on the current severity of the Veteran's depressive disorder.,A VA examination is required to determine if the Veteran currently has a diagnosed bilateral hearing loss or tinnitus disability and its relationship to service.,The etiology of the Veteran's diabetes mellitus needs to be determined, considering whether it was caused by weight gain due to his lumbar spine disability.,The etiology of the Veteran's hypertension needs to be determined, considering whether it is related to his lumbar spine disability and any other relevant factors.,A VA examination is needed to determine if the Veteran's bilateral foot disability is related to service, taking into account weight gain as a possible intermediary factor.,An appropriate VA examination is required to assess the etiology of the Veteran's right elbow disability and its relationship to his lumbar spine disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Depressive Disorder, Bilateral Foot Disability, Bilateral Hearing Loss Disability, Diabetes Mellitus, Hypertension, Right Elbow Disability
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 29, 2021
- Citation
- 21066261
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 21066261.
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 Board denied the claim of service connection for hypertension, finding that it did not manifest during service and is not causally related to the Veteran's exposure to herbicides or service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and active duty service or herbicide exposure.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to his service-connected left knee and left ankle conditions.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected other specified insomnia disorder.
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