Citation Nr: 18146748 Decision Date: 11/01/18 Archive Date: 11/01/18 DOCKET NO. 14-39 817 DATE: November 1, 2018 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from June 1981 to February 1985. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2011 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in San Diego, California. A February 2012 communication is deemed as a notice of disagreement. Entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea is remanded. Inasmuch as the Board regrets further delay in the adjudication of this claim, a remand is necessary. The Veteran seeks service connection of obstructive sleep apnea. The record does not document that his symptoms manifested during active service. Rather, he contends that his sleep apnea is caused by significant weight gain, the direct result of his various service-connected disabilities. He asserts that his low back and foot disabilities rendered him incapable of exercise, thereby leading to weight gain which caused his sleep apnea. In the alternative, during the pendency of this appeal, the Veteran was granted service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Veteran’s representative has also raised the contention that this disability has contributed to his sleep apnea. VA has sought two separate opinions in this appeal, but neither have been the result of an actual physical examination of the Veteran, and have only been based on a review of the Veteran’s medical file. As the severity of the Veteran’s service-connected disabilities are of consequence to whether or not he developed sleep apnea, an actual examination should be conducted, which takes a complete medical history from him and considers his complete medical profile. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Request that the Veteran submit any additional evidence in support of his claim. (Continued on the next page)   2. Schedule the Veteran for an in-person examination with an appropriate clinician regarding whether the Veteran’s obstructive sleep apnea is at least as likely as not related to his various service-connected disabilities/proximately due to service-connected disability/aggravated beyond its natural progression by service-connected disability. The examiner should take a detailed medical and social history from the Veteran and conduct a physical examination of his various service-connected disabilities prior to rendering any opinions. The requested opinion should discuss the severity of his service-connected PTSD, low back, and foot disabilities. Eric S. Leboff Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD M. Pryce, Associate Counsel