The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea, finding that there is no evidence of a diagnosis or treatment of sleep apnea during service and that obesity did not cause or aggravate his sleep apnea. The Board also found that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not cause or aggravate his obesity.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner concluded that the Veteran's sleep apnea developed in 2014/2015, after he was already obese and morbidly obese for years prior to this diagnosis. The examiner also found no evidence of aggravation of the Veteran's sleep apnea beyond its natural course due to obesity.
- Claimed conditions
- Obesity, Sleep Apnea
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 28, 2022
- Citation
- 22018032
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 22018032.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for sleep apnea, finding that the evidence did not support a link between the condition and service.
- Denied
The claims for PTSD, an acquired psychiatric disorder, memory loss/memory problems, chronic fatigue, sleep difficulties/sleep disturbances, and sleep apnea have been denied. The claim for service connection for residuals of testicular denervation and varicosectomy has been granted.
- 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.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that it is secondary to her service-connected PTSD and obesity. The decision also acknowledges the Veteran's participation in a TERA during service.
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