The Board denied service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, and various other disabilities due to the lack of evidence supporting a current diagnosis or a link to active duty.
The deciding factor: There was no evidence of record indicating that the Veteran had a current disability of OSA or hearing loss. Additionally, there was no evidence linking any of the claimed conditions to his period of service.
- Claimed conditions
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), Bilateral Hearing Loss, Left Ankle Disability, Right Knee Disability, Left Knee Disability, Back Disability, Bilateral Flat Feet
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 1, 2025
- Citation
- A25056907
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, left knee disability, and right knee disability. The claims for urinary frequency disability and residuals of a cholecystectomy were denied.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for PTSD, entitlement to TDIU, and SMC based on housebound status.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an initial increased rating for diabetes mellitus type II and remanded the claims for service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, right shoulder strain with acromioclavicular joint osteoarthritis and tendinitis, cervical spine spondylosis, left knee degenerative arthritis, right knee degenerative arthritis, and thoracolumbar scoliosis and lumbar spine degenerative changes.
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