Citation Nr: 21029121 Decision Date: 05/12/21 Archive Date: 05/12/21 DOCKET NO. 15-33 001 DATE: May 12, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran's diagnosed obstructive sleep apnea is due to weight gain during active duty service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from December 1996 to December 2000. In July 2017, the Veteran testified at a Board hearing. A transcript of the hearing has been associated with the Veteran's claims file. The Veterans Law Judge who held the hearing is no longer employed at the Board. In November 2020, the Veteran submitted a statement indicating he did not wish to appear at another Board hearing. He requested that his case be considered based on the evidence of record. The claim was previously remanded by the Board in January 2020. There has been substantial compliance with the remand directives, and the Board will proceed with adjudication of the claim. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). The Veteran is seeking service connection for his diagnosed obstructive sleep apnea. He alternatively contends that his sleep apnea is related to active duty service or is secondary to his service-connected Type II diabetes mellitus. The Board concludes that the Veteran has a current diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea that is due to his in-service weight gain. Consequently, the service connection claim is granted. A review of the Veteran's service treatment records shows that he weighed 184 pounds at his entrance examination in November 1996. His separation examination dated in September 2000 reflects that he weighed 226 pounds. At his Board hearing, the Veteran testified that during active duty service fellow servicemembers woke him for snoring at night. He stated that his symptoms continued from service to the present day. The medical evidence of record establishes that the Veteran has been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea. The Board remanded this matter in September 2018 and January 2020, in part, due to its determination that VA opinions of record addressing direct service connection (dated in November 2015 and July 2019) were inadequate to adjudicate the claim. The medical evidence of record includes a January 2020 VA examiner's opinion concluding, following a review of the medical evidence, that it was more likely than not that the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea was caused by his weight gain in service. In support of this conclusion, the examiner noted that weight gain and an obese body-mass-index (BMI) were causative factors for the development of obstructive sleep apnea. The examiner further noted the Veteran's 42-pound weight gain between entrance and separation from active duty service. The Board finds that the January 2020 VA examiner's opinion is the most probative evidence of record, and there is no adequate medical opinion to the contrary concerning this issue. The VA examiner provided a clear, adequate rationale that was based on a review of the Veteran's claims file, as well as her own training and expertise. Therefore, the Board finds that the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea is related to his weight gain during active duty service. J. Komperda Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Q. Hernan, Attorney Advisor 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.