The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and an initial rating of 30 percent for headaches, but denied an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for headaches.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's OSA was found to be secondary to his service-connected disabilities, while his headache symptoms were most closely associated with characteristic prostrating attacks occurring on average once a month over the last several months, warranting a 30 percent rating. An earlier effective date was denied as there is no evidence of entitlement to service connection prior to December 12, 2022.
- Claimed conditions
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), Headaches
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- October 20, 2025
- Citation
- A25090321
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 134 · Granted: 37% (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 A25090321.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
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 of entitlement to service connection for vertigo and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The Veteran's hearing loss is not rated higher than 10 percent.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the claims for service connection for OSA and insomnia must be remanded due to inadequate VA examinations and opinions, as well as a failure to obtain TERA opinions on all relevant exposures.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and a separate rating for chronic pulmonary embolism due to inadequate VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for initial compensable ratings for obstructive sleep apnea and headaches, finding that the evidence does not support a finding of persistent daytime hypersomnolence or other manifestations consistent with a compensable disability rating under the criteria established by Diagnostic Codes. The matter is remanded to obtain additional information from the Veteran regarding his headaches and their impact on his daily life.
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