Citation Nr: 18145828
Decision Date: 10/30/18	Archive Date: 10/30/18

DOCKET NO. 17-25 043
DATE:	October 30, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to service connection for sleep apnea is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran served on active duty from October 1990 to May 1995.  This matter comes before the Board of Veteran’s Appeals (Board) on appeal from an October 2015 rating decision.
The Veteran did not request a Board hearing.
1. Entitlement to service connection for sleep apnea is remanded.
The Veteran contends that his sleep apnea manifested in service after basic training.  Specially, in the notice of disagreement, the Veteran maintained that he had issues of feeling tired during the day beginning around 1992 while stationed at Lindsey Air Station.  While he mentioned it to doctors, it was never diagnosed as sleep apnea until 2013 when he saw a specialist over concerns with his lungs.  He suggested a sleep study and diagnosed sleep apnea.  In VA Form 9, the Veteran maintained that while stationed at Lindsey Air Station in Germany, he began to experience feeling tired all the time. The doctor advised him that he needed to sleep more.  His wife complained that he snored “but it was never discussed that [he] could have sleep apnea as [he] was ‘too young.’”  It was not until after he was discharged from service that his dad was diagnosed with sleep apnea and indicated that he thought the Veteran had sleep apnea due to similar symptoms.  The Veteran maintained that his symptoms did not start until after basic training during which time he lost a lot of weight but gained a lot of weight on his first duty assignment which required him to be placed on a weight management program.  Service treatment records do show the Veteran participated in a weight management program.  
The Board cannot make a fully-informed decision on the issue of entitlement to service connection for sleep apnea because no VA examiner has opined whether the Veteran’s sleep apnea is due to his active service.
The matter is REMANDED for the following action:
1. Obtain the Veteran’s VA treatment records for the period from June 2016 to the Present.
2. Schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the nature and etiology of sleep apnea.  The entire file must be made available to the examiner designated to examine the appellant, and the report of examination should include discussion of the Veteran’s documented history and assertions.  All indicated tests and studies should be accomplished (with all results made available to the requesting examiner prior to the completion of his or her report), and all clinical findings should be reported in detail.
The examiner must opine whether it is at least as likely as not related to an in-service injury, event, or disease in active service, including his weight gain, feeling tired, and snoring.
The examiner is requested to provide a clear rationale and explain in detail the underlying reasoning for any opinions expressed.  A discussion of the facts and medical principles involved would be of considerable assistance to the Board.  If an examiner cannot provide the requested opinion without resorting to speculation, he or she should expressly indicate this and provide a supporting rationale as to why an opinion cannot be made without resorting to speculation.

 
TANYA SMITH
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	Alexia E. Palacios-Peters, Associate Counsel