Citation Nr: 20007908 Decision Date: 01/30/20 Archive Date: 01/30/20 DOCKET NO. 19-17 492 DATE: January 30, 2020 ORDER Service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran was diagnosed with OSA following a September 2017 sleep study and has provided competent and credible evidence (including lay statements received in October and November 2017) that his OSA symptoms began during service and have persisted since that time. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for OSA have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.304. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran honorably served from August 1965 to July 1967. This matter is before the Board of Veteran’s Appeals (Board) on appeal from an October 2017 rating decision. Service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) Legal Criteria Service connection may be established for a disability resulting from a disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. Service connection requires evidence showing: (1) a current disability; (2) incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury in service; and (3) a nexus between the current disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated in service. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Service connection may be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge, when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disability was incurred in service. Factual Background A review of the medical evidence of record substantiates that the Veteran was diagnosed with severe OSA following a September 2017 sleep study. See September 2017 VAMC sleep study. In an October 2017 statement, the Veteran stated that he has experienced sleep difficulties since his separation from service in 1967. The Veteran further stated that his wife has noticed something wrong with his sleeping habits since that time. The Veteran communicated that his wife has told him that dating back to his separation from service he has appeared to stop breathing while he slept. In a November 2017 statement the Veteran reiterated that his sleeping difficulties began during his service when he was subjected to long hours of duty and short periods of stressful sleep. He stated that he “could not sleep well at all” immediately after service. Analysis The Veteran reports his sleep apnea syndrome was initially manifested during his active duty service. The Veteran has provided lay statements from his wife reflecting that his condition has persisted from then until the present. Because symptoms such as snoring, fatigue, and difficulty breathing are capable of lay observation by other parties (such as the Veteran’s wife), the lay statements are competent (medically qualified). There is also no reason to question the credibility of the Veteran or his wife. While the Veteran’s service treatment records (STRs) are silent for reports of OSA symptoms, the Board finds the Veteran’s statements, which are corroborated by lay statements from his wife, persuasive to establish an in-service incurrence. Critically, there is no medical evidence, including VA medical opinions, which would contradict the credible lay evidence suggesting a nexus (causal link) between in-service OSA symptoms and the Veteran’s currently-diagnosed OSA. Accordingly, and given the Veteran’s competent report of severe OSA symptoms during service, the Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence weighs for finding that the Veteran’s OSA began during service and has persisted since that time. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). VICTORIA MOSHIASHWILI Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Kyle McKone The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential, and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.