Service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) secondary to service-connected general anxiety disorder with insomnia not otherwise specified and alcohol use disorder (psychiatric disability), rhinitis, and…

Citation Nr: A26069949 Decision Date: 07/30/26 Archive Date: 07/30/26 DOCKET NO. 250828-580673 DATE: July 30, 2026 ORDER Service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) secondary to service-connected general anxiety disorder with insomnia not otherwise specified and alcohol use disorder (psychiatric disability), rhinitis, and sinusitis is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran has been diagnosed with OSA; it is at least as likely as not that the condition is etiologically related to his service-connected psychiatric disability, rhinitis, and sinusitis. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for OSA secondary to service-connected psychiatric disability, rhinitis, and sinusitis have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.310. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from March 2012 to September 2014. In June 2025, the Veteran submitted a VA Form 20-0995, Decision Review Request: Supplemental Claim, and requested readjudication of the issues of service connection for OSA most recently addressed in a May 2025 rating decision. In July 2025, the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) issued a supplemental claim decision, which found that new and relevant evidence had been received with respect to the Veteran's claim. In the August 2025 VA Form 10182, Decision Review Request: Board Appeal (Notice of Disagreement), the Veteran elected the Direct Review docket. Therefore, the Board may only consider the evidence of record at the time of the July 2025 AOJ decision on appeal. 38 C.F.R. § 20.301. If evidence was submitted during the period after the AOJ issued the decision, the Board did not consider it in its decision. 38 C.F.R. §§ 20.300, 20.301, 20.801. Any evidence submitted after the AOJ decision on appeal cannot be considered by the Board. 38 C.F.R. §§ 20.300, 20.301, 20.801. Service Connection - OSA In the present case, the Veteran seeks to establish service connection for OSA secondary to service-connected psychiatric disability, rhinitis, and sinusitis. Service connection is warranted where the evidence of record establishes that a particular injury or disease resulting in disability was incurred in the line of duty in the active military service or, if pre-existing such service, was aggravated thereby. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). Generally, in order to prove service connection, there must be competent, credible evidence of (1) a current disability, (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of an injury or disease, and (3) a nexus, or link, between the current disability and the in-service disease or injury. See, e.g., Davidson v. Shinseki, 581 F.3d 1313 (Fed. Cir. 2009); Pond v. West, 12 Vet. App. 341 (1999). Under applicable law, disability which is proximately due to or the result of a service-connected disease or injury shall also be service connected. 38 C.F.R. § 3.310(a). Establishing service connection on a secondary basis requires evidence sufficient to show: (1) that a current disability exists; and (2) that the current disability was either (a) caused or (b) aggravated by a service-connected disability. 38 C.F.R. § 3.310; Allen v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 439 (1995). When there is an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding any issue material to the determination of a matter, the Secretary shall give the benefit of the doubt to the claimant. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. The evidence reflects that the Veteran has been diagnosed with OSA. See July 2025 VA Examination. Accordingly, the Board finds that the first element of secondary service connection is established. See Wallin, 11 Vet. App. at 512. The evidence also reflects that the Veteran is service connected for psychiatric disability, rhinitis, and sinusitis. See July 2025 Codesheet. Thus, the second element of secondary service connection is also established. See id. The remaining question is whether there is a nexus, or link between the Veteran's service-connected disabilities and the Veteran's OSA. In October 2024, a VA examiner opined that the Veteran's OSA was not proximately due to or the result of the Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disability. The examiner did not address the related, but distinct, question of whether the Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disability aggravated his OSA. As such, the Board assigns the opinion no probative value. In March 2025, a private examiner opined that it is as least as likely as not that the Veteran's current condition of OSA is aggravated beyond its natural progression by his service-connected psychiatric disability, allergic rhinitis and sinusitis. The examiner's opinion was based upon a review of medical literature and the Veteran's medical history. In July 2025, although a VA examiner found that the Veteran's OSA was caused by his inservice toxic exposure risk activities (TERA), they later clarified that the Veteran's OSA was not caused by such TERA and was caused by the Veteran's obesity. The Board has reviewed the medical opinions with respect to nexus and finds that the evidence is in approximate balance for the Veteran's claim for secondary service connection for OSA. Resolving all reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor, the third and final element of service connection has been met. Service connection for OSA secondary to service-connected psychiatric disability, allergic rhinitis and sinusitis is granted. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. Christopher Seppanen Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Gandhi, Rahil 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.