Citation Nr: 22010534 Decision Date: 02/23/22 Archive Date: 02/23/22 DOCKET NO. 17-56 278A DATE: February 23, 2022 REMANDED Service connection for sleep apnea is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from November 1998 to November 2002. This matter is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a December 2016 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran testified at a videoconference hearing held before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in November 2021. A transcript is of record. Service connection for sleep apnea is remanded. The Veteran contends that her sleep apnea had its onset in service. At the November 2021 Board hearing, the Veteran testified that she was first made aware of her heavy snoring when she got to the permanent duty station in March or April of 1999. She stated that she did not snore before service, and has continued to snore since discharge. She testified that her mother noticed she stopped breathing in her sleep once, shortly before she had a sleep study performed around 2015 or 2016. The Veteran's March 2017 private record from Methodist Healthcare shows a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea based on a sleep study. In April 2017, VA received four lay statements from the Veteran's former servicemembers. They generally recalled that the Veteran would snore loudly and would at times seem to stop breathing in her sleep during active service. Given the foregoing, a VA examination is necessary to determine whether the Veteran's current sleep apnea had its onset during or is otherwise related to service. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to determine the etiology of her sleep apnea. The examiner must review the claims file. The examiner must opine whether it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran's sleep apnea manifested during or as a result of service. The examiner is advised that the Veteran is competent to report her symptoms and history. The examiner should include in the examination report the rationale for any opinion expressed. In providing the requested opinion, consider the Veteran's description of her symptoms in-service and thereafter, as well as those statements from her former servicemembers. If there is any medical reason to accept or reject the proposition that the Veteran's reported symptoms in service and thereafter represented the onset of her current disability, this should be noted. Stated another way, do the Veteran's reports about her symptoms align with how the currently diagnosed disability is known to develop or are the Veteran's reports generally inconsistent with medical knowledge or implausible? D. JOHNSON Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board B. Jake Choi, Associate 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.