Citation Nr: A21020306 Decision Date: 12/21/21 Archive Date: 12/21/21 DOCKET NO. 211107-196211 DATE: December 21, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. Service connection has been established for chronic tonsilitis with pharyngitis major depressive disorder, diabetes mellitus, right knee osteoarthritis with instability, left knee osteoarthritis with instability, right ankle osteoarthritis, and left ankle strain with osteoarthritis. 2. Obstructive sleep apnea was aggravated by the service-connected chronic tonsilitis with pharyngitis. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for sleep apnea have been met. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.310(a). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active service from June 1964 to June 1968. In July 2020, the Agency of Original Jurisdiction reopened and denied service connection for sleep apnea. In the November 2021 Decision Review Request: Board Appeal (Notice of Disagreement), VA Form 10182, the Veteran elected the Direct Review docket. Therefore, the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) may only consider the evidence of record at the time of the Agency of Original Jurisdiction's July 2020 decision on appeal. 38 C.F.R. § 20.301. Service connection for Obstructive Sleep Apnea The Veteran asserts that service connection for sleep apnea is warranted as the claimed disability was incurred secondary to his service-connected chronic tonsilitis with pharyngitis. Service connection may be granted for recurrent disability which is proximately due to or the result of a service connected disease or injury. 38 C.F.R. § 3.310(a). Service connection shall be granted on a secondary basis under the provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 3.310(a) where it is demonstrated that a service connected disorder has aggravated a nonservice connected disability. Allen v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 439 (1995). Service connection has been established for chronic tonsilitis with pharyngitis, major depressive disorder, diabetes mellitus, right knee osteoarthritis with instability, left knee osteoarthritis with instability, right ankle osteoarthritis, and left ankle strain with osteoarthritis. A March 2011 sleep study from Baptist South Sleep Disorders Center states that the Veteran was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea. (Continued on the next page) The report of a March 2019 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) sleep apnea examination concludes that the "Veteran's sleep apnea is more likely than not aggravated beyond its natural progression by the service connected chronic tonsilitis/pharyngitis condition." The Veteran has been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea by a 2011 sleep study. A VA examiner concluded that the diagnosed sleep apnea was aggravated by the service connected chronic tonsilitis with pharyngitis. Therefore, service connection for objective sleep apnea is warranted. J. T. HUTCHESON Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Emily A. Kotroco 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.