Rating guide · Respiratory
Sleep Apnea Claims: Diagnosis, Device, Connection
A sleep apnea claim has three building blocks: a confirmed diagnosis, documentation of any breathing device, and a solid link to service. Get all three and the rating takes care of itself.
- Diagnosis requirement
- Rating criteria
- Direct & secondary links
- Who can vouch for you
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Diagnosis and Device
Diagnosis: the VA wants sleep apnea confirmed by a sleep study, whether at a VA or private lab or with an accepted home test. Symptoms alone won’t do it.
Device: if you’ve been prescribed a CPAP, BiPAP or similar machine, that prescription should appear in your medical records. It’s the specific fact that supports 50%.
Rating Criteria
Linking Sleep Apnea to Service
- In service: notes about snoring, gasping or exhaustion, plus statements from people who shared a room, a tent or a vehicle with you. Field exercises and deployments out of Fort Riley often put soldiers shoulder to shoulder for weeks.
- Secondary: caused or worsened by a service-connected condition, often argued with PTSD. These claims need a careful medical opinion because the research is mixed.
- Weight gain in between: when a service-connected condition or its medication led to weight gain that caused sleep apnea, obesity can serve as an intermediate step. The opinion must connect each link.
Sleep Apnea VA Rating: Common Questions
Does a CPAP prescription mean 50%?
If sleep apnea is service-connected and you require a breathing assistance device like a CPAP, the current criteria call for 50%.
Who can write a statement for me?
Anyone who observed your snoring, breathing pauses or exhaustion: a spouse, a roommate in service, or a fellow soldier or airman.
Is sleep apnea covered by the PACT Act?
Not directly, but some veterans claim it secondary to chronic rhinitis or sinusitis, which are PACT Act presumptives.
Will these ratings change soon?
The VA has proposed new criteria, but as of October 2026 the current ones still apply.
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