Citation Nr: 21004254 Decision Date: 01/26/21 Archive Date: 01/26/21 DOCKET NO. 17-00 033 DATE: January 26, 2021 ORDER Service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran’s OSA is related to service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria to establish service connection for OSA have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1111, 1131, 5107(b) (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303 (2019). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active duty for training from February 1989 to July 1989, and active service from June 1996 to August 2004. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from an April 2014 rating decision by the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ). A Board hearing was held in December 2020. A transcript is of record. The Veteran maintains that symptoms of OSA first began during active service. Entitlement to VA compensation may be granted for disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active duty. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110 (wartime service), 1131 (peacetime service); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. To establish a right to compensation for a present disability, a Veteran must show: “(1) the existence of a present disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the present disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service”-the so-called “nexus” requirement. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Service connection may be granted for any disease initially diagnosed after service, when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). Service connection may be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge, when all of the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). However, “[a] determination of service connection requires a finding of the existence of a current disability and a determination of a relationship between that disability and an injury or disease incurred in service.” Watson v. Brown, 4 Vet. App. 309, 314 (1993). A November 2013 report from Sleep Centers of Excellence notes a history of excessive daytime sleepiness and loud snoring. Following testing, the diagnosis was severe sleep apnea. In a May 2014 statement, the Veteran’s wife recalled that the Veteran had experienced sleep problems dating from 2003 and continuing to the present. She indicated that he often complained of awaking with headaches and a sore throat. In an additional May 2014 statement, she described her observation of the Veteran’s loud snoring, restless sleep, cessation of breathing during sleep, and awaking numerous times throughout the night. A May 2014 statement by the Veteran’s mother notes the Veteran’s complaints over the years of inability to sleep. She recalled that the Veteran’s complaints of headaches and fatigue on awaking dated back to 2003. She noted that she had observed restless sleep. She indicated that she had been diagnosed with sleep apnea and recognized the symptoms. A May 2014 report by M.N., M.D. indicates that the Veteran had shown signs of sleep apnea during service which had gone untreated. Dr. N. opined that the Veteran’s sleep apnea was related to service. During his December 2020 hearing, the Veteran testified that he experienced headaches and fatigue during service. He indicated that his platoon sergeant noticed him gasping for air, but that they attributed it to the conditions of deployment. He related that he was told during service that he snored loudly. He stated that his symptoms continued following service. Having carefully reviewed the record, the Board has determined that service connection for the Veteran’s OSA is warranted. In reaching this conclusion, the Board notes that Dr. N. provided a positive nexus opinion regarding the Veteran’s symptoms during service. At the time he was seen a diagnostic study in 2014, the Veteran reported symptoms consistent with those described by his wife and mother. Notably, both the Veteran’s wife and mother described symptoms dating to 2003. Dr. N. considered the medical evidence and the Veteran’s report, and concluded that the Veteran’s claimed OSA had its onset during service. As there is an informed medical opinion relating the Veteran’s OSA to service, service connection is granted. DONNIE R. HACHEY Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board J. Barone, Counsel 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.