The Board remands the matter to obtain an addendum medical opinion addressing service connection for obstructive sleep apnea on both direct and secondary bases, including consideration of obesity as an intermediate step between the service-connected PTSD and claimed obstructive sleep apnea.
The deciding factor: The current opinions are inadequate because they fail to address the Veteran's lay statements regarding his nose injuries during service and whether the service-connected PTSD aggravated the obstructive sleep apnea.
- Claimed conditions
- sleep apnea, tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 22, 2025
- Citation
- A25109982
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 882 · Granted: 22% (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 A25109982.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service connected. The issues of foot disability and cardiovascular disorder are remanded for additional development.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, finding that it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran experienced tinnitus during his active duty service.
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