Board decisions
What the Board granted and denied for sleep apnea
In the Board decisions we have indexed since 2019, veterans raised 34,160 issues about sleep apnea. Of the ones it decided, the Board granted 50 percent. It sent 54 percent of all these issues back for more work.
Every decision counted here is an appeal. The regional office decided the claim first, the veteran disagreed, and the Board is the next step after that. These are not the odds on a first claim.
Since 2019
1,377 were reopened for a fresh look, which is not a grant and is not counted as one. 1,412 were dismissed or withdrawn. 204 ended some other way, or we could not read the outcome.
Across every year we have indexed, that is 56,475 issues across 52,610 decisions, 46 percent granted of the ones decided, and 53 percent sent back for more work.
What a remand is
A remand is not a yes or a no. The Board sends the claim back to the regional office for more work, such as a new exam or a record that was not in the file. The claim is decided again later, and that later decision is a separate document.
What showed up in the decisions
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| What the decision mentions | Granted10,037 issues | Denied11,790 issues |
|---|---|---|
| A medical opinion, or the words nexus or at least as likely as not, anywhere in the decision | 92 percent | 91 percent |
| The words lay statement, buddy statement, or lay evidence | 66 percent | 72 percent |
| A hearing was held (the veteran or a witness testified) | 46 percent | 38 percent |
| The decision calls an exam or medical opinion inadequate | 10 percent | 8 percent |
These are mentions in the written decision, not reasons for the outcome. A denied issue can mention a doctor's opinion just as a granted one does. Whether the opinion was for or against the claim, and the reasons it gave, are not something these counts can see. Each item is counted for the whole decision, so it may concern another issue decided in the same document.
Claimed together
A pair gets its own page once it appears at least 100 times and the Board decided at least 20 of them. Pairs below that are in the data but have no page.
Claimed as secondary to sleep apnea
High blood pressure secondary to sleep apnea
Since 2019: 165 issues paired, 57 percent granted of the ones decided
Heart disease secondary to sleep apnea
Since 2019: 67 issues paired, 69 percent granted of the ones decided
Diabetes secondary to sleep apnea
Since 2019: 56 issues paired, 78 percent granted of the ones decided
Migraines secondary to sleep apnea
Since 2019: 72 issues paired, 73 percent granted of the ones decided
Sleep apnea claimed as secondary to something else
Sleep apnea secondary to PTSD
Since 2019: 2,953 issues paired, 53 percent granted of the ones decided
Sleep apnea secondary to depression or anxiety
Since 2019: 1,404 issues paired, 57 percent granted of the ones decided
Sleep apnea secondary to diabetes
Since 2019: 360 issues paired, 36 percent granted of the ones decided
Sleep apnea secondary to sinusitis
Since 2019: 266 issues paired, 53 percent granted of the ones decided
Sleep apnea secondary to high blood pressure
Since 2019: 213 issues paired, 40 percent granted of the ones decided
Sleep apnea secondary to rhinitis
Since 2019: 249 issues paired, 52 percent granted of the ones decided
Sleep apnea secondary to asthma
Since 2019: 242 issues paired, 55 percent granted of the ones decided
Sleep apnea secondary to lower back conditions
Since 2019: 258 issues paired, 58 percent granted of the ones decided
Sleep apnea secondary to heart disease
Since 2019: 171 issues paired, 24 percent granted of the ones decided
Sleep apnea secondary to knee conditions
Since 2019: 177 issues paired, 64 percent granted of the ones decided
Sleep apnea secondary to GERD
Since 2019: 132 issues paired, 37 percent granted of the ones decided
Sleep apnea secondary to traumatic brain injury
Since 2019: 149 issues paired, 49 percent granted of the ones decided
Sleep apnea secondary to COPD
Since 2019: 99 issues paired, 47 percent granted of the ones decided
Sleep apnea secondary to migraines
Since 2019: 113 issues paired, 30 percent granted of the ones decided
Sleep apnea secondary to tinnitus
Since 2019: 115 issues paired, 35 percent granted of the ones decided
Sleep apnea secondary to neck conditions
Since 2019: 80 issues paired, 60 percent granted of the ones decided
Sleep apnea secondary to arthritis
Since 2019: 79 issues paired, 63 percent granted of the ones decided
Five recent decisions about sleep apnea
- June 30, 2026Granted
Service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)
Read the decision at VA.gov - June 30, 2026Granted
Entitlement to a uniform 60 percent rating for obstructive sleep apnea with reactive airway disease since January 2, 2009
Read the decision at VA.gov - June 30, 2026Granted
Entitlement to service connection for sleep apnea
Read the decision at VA.gov - June 29, 2026Denied
Entitlement to service connection for sleep disability, to include obstructive sleep apnea
Read the decision at VA.gov - June 26, 2026Denied
Entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), to include as secondary to service-connected disabilities
Read the decision at VA.gov
What this means for you
Three things carry a sleep apnea claim. A sleep study that names the condition, because the schedule rates a documented sleep disorder breathing and not snoring or tiredness on their own. Something in service, or a service-connected condition the apnea is tied to. And a doctor's opinion that explains the link.
The link is where these claims turn. Sleep apnea is also claimed as secondary to a rated condition, and that claim needs a doctor to say the first condition led to the apnea, or made it worse, and to explain why. Records of snoring, choking, or daytime sleepiness while you were still in uniform, and statements from the people who slept near you, are what a doctor reads to reach that opinion.
For a higher rating, the schedule asks a short list of questions, and not one of them is about a lab value or attacks a month. Is the breathing disorder documented on a sleep study but without symptoms. Is there persistent daytime sleepiness. Does a doctor require a breathing assistance device, such as a CPAP machine. Is there chronic respiratory failure with carbon dioxide retention or cor pulmonale, or a tracheostomy. A required device carries its own rung, so the prescription belongs in the file, not just the diagnosis.
A machine you were handed years ago still needs paper behind it. Bring the prescription, the supply records, and the report from the machine if you have one. A note saying you use a device you bought yourself is not the same as a doctor requiring one.
Keep reading
Board decisions by condition
Every condition family and the secondary pairs that appeared most, counted from 1,479,738 Board decisions.
How to Read a Board of Veterans' Appeals Decision
Where VA Board decisions live and how to read one in ten minutes, using a real back case.
Lay Evidence and Buddy Statements That Hold Up at the Board
Who can write a statement for you, what they can say, and how the VA weighs it, with prompts for knee, back, sleep apnea, and PTSD.
Free to use. The written playbook is $49.99 once, when it ships.
An issue is counted in a family by its diagnostic code or by the words in the issue. One issue can be counted in more than one family. Percent granted is of the ones the Board decided, so remands and dismissals are left out. The example decisions are recent ones we could link whose issue names this condition, chosen so that both outcomes are shown when we have them. Reopened claims and effective-date disputes are left out. Past decisions do not predict yours. Each page states the decisions from 2019 on, and says so, unless the Board decided too few of them since 2019 to give a percentage worth reading. Where that happens the page counts every year instead and tells you it has. This page is education, not legal advice. Rules quoted are from 38 CFR Parts 3 and 4, as published on the government's eCFR website. Board decisions are public records, linked at their source.