Citation Nr: 21007284 Decision Date: 02/09/21 Archive Date: 02/09/21 DOCKET NO. 17-38 844 DATE: February 9, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), secondary to the service-connected sinus disability, is GRANTED. FINDING OF FACT The preponderance of the evidence favors a finding that the Veteran’s OSA is proximately due to the service-connected sinus disability. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to service connection for OSA have been satisfied. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1131, 1133, 5103, 5103A, 5107 (West 2014); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.159, 3.303, 3.304, 3.310 (2020).   REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served honorably in the United States Marine Corps from March 1984 to July 2004. Entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), secondary to the service-connected sinus disability, is granted. In February 2016, the Veteran submitted a VA Form 21-526EZ. Thereby, the Veteran initiated a claim for service connection for sleep apnea. Service connection may be granted for a disability that is proximately due to, or the result of, a service-connected disability. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.310 (a). When service connection is thus established for a secondary condition, the secondary condition shall be considered a part of the original condition. See id; Harder v. Brown, 5 Vet. App. 183, 187 (1993). The controlling regulation has been interpreted to permit a grant of service connection not only for disability caused by a service-connected disability, but for the degree of disability resulting from aggravation of a non-service-connected disability by a service-connected disability. See Allen v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 439, 448 (1995). In other words, service connection may be granted for a disability found to be proximately due to, or aggravated by, a service-connected disease or injury. To prevail on the issue of secondary service connection, the record must show (1) evidence of a current disability, (2) evidence of a service-connected disability, and (3) medical nexus evidence establishing a connection between the current disability and the service-connected disability. Wallin v. West, 11 Vet. App. 509, 512 (1998); Reiber v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 513, 516-17 (1995). The VA is responsible for determining whether the evidence supports the claim or is in relative equipoise (with the Veteran prevailing in either event) or whether a preponderance of the evidence is against the claim (in which case the claim is denied). Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990); 38 U.S.C. § 5107 (b). In April 2017, a statement from the Veteran was associated with the claims file. Therein, the Veteran reported that he noticed changes in his sleeping patterns while stationed on the Whidbey Island Naval Station. The Veteran reported that his difficulty sleeping worsened during a deployment in Saudi Arabia. In 2009, after separation from the Marine Corps, the Veteran was informed by his wife that he would stop breathing for extended periods during sleep. In April 2017, a statement from the Veteran’s wife was associated with the claims file. Therein, the spouse relayed that, “prior to 2002, he had been experiencing sinus and asthma conditions, which caused intermittent snoring, but not a stoppage of breathing . . ..” The spouse relayed that, after the Veteran’s return from Saudi Arabia in 2002, the snoring was more severe, and the Veteran would jerk himself awake numerous times a night. In April 2017, the Veteran’s VA-generated treatment notations were associated with the claims file. Therein, it was noted that the Veteran was initially diagnosed for obstructive sleep apnea in September 2015. In January 2019, the Veteran’s attorney submitted a statement from an otolaryngology and sleep apnea physician. Therein, the doctor opined that, “I . . . state on a more likely than not basis (51% or more likelihood) that (the Veteran’s) sleep apnea is caused by his sinusitis or sinus condition incurred in the military, and his apnea is therefore caused by his military service.” In September 2020, the Veteran’s attorney submitted several medical articles that addressed studies on the correlation between chronic rhinosinusitis and the development of sleep disturbances, to include obstructive sleep apnea. The Board notes that the Veteran has been service connected for a sinus disability since August 2004. The disability was initially rated as left maxillary sinusitis, and it is currently rated as pansinusitis with retention cyst. In September 2015, the Veteran was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea. The Veteran has been service connected for a sinus condition throughout the appellate period. In January 2019, a physician opined that the it was more likely than not that the Veteran’s OSA was caused by the service-connected sinus disability. Consequently, the Board finds that all three requisite elements for secondary service connection have been substantiated. See Wallin, 11 Vet. App. at 512; Reiber, 7 Vet. App. at 516-17. Ultimately, the preponderance of the evidence favors the Veteran’s claim for service connection for an obstructive sleep apnea disability. Accordingly, this service-connection claim must be granted. DAVID L. WIGHT Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board RLBJ, 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.