Is Sleep Apnea a Disability?

Sleep apnea (AP-ne-uh) is a medical condition where a person repeatedly stops breathing briefly while sleeping. The most common type of sleep apnea is obstructive sleep apnea, which occurs when tissue in the back of your throat slackens and causes your airway to be obstructed. Another, rarer type of sleep apnea is central sleep apnea, which happens when your brain stops sending the correct messages to the muscles that control your breathing.

Although some people are able to effectively manage their sleep apnea with lifestyle changes or use of breathing aids, others may find that they struggle to complete their daily routine. If your sleep apnea symptoms are causing significant functional limitations that affect your ability to work full-time, you may want to consider applying for disability benefits.

What Are the Symptoms of Sleep Apnea?

While loud snoring followed by a choking sound can suggest apnea, not everyone who snores has the disorder. Disrupted sleep is a more reliable symptom, especially for people with severe sleep apnea who are constantly being awakened by their breathing disruptions and get very little sleep as a consequence. Even people who aren't aware of their disrupted sleep may be very tired or drowsy during the day, since they aren't getting enough oxygen at night. They may also feel irritable, moody, or depressed, and have headaches in the morning.

But sleep apnea can be much more dangerous than loud snoring and feeling tired. When you stop breathing during an episode of sleep apnea, the oxygen levels in your blood decrease (hypoxemia). This fluctuation in oxygen levels can lead to a condition called pulmonary vascular hypertension—a type of high blood pressure—which can lead to an enlarged heart (cardiomyopathy) and potentially heart failure.

Does Sleep Apnea Qualify for Disability?

The Social Security Administration (SSA) awards benefits to people who have a disabling condition that keeps them from working full-time for at least one year. You can show that you're unable to work in one of two ways—by meeting the criteria of a "listed impairment" or by having a reduced functional capacity that rules out all jobs.

Getting Disability by Meeting a Listing

Listed impairments are conditions that the SSA considers severe enough to potentially qualify for disability automatically, provided that you have specific evidence in your medical records. While the agency no longer has a disability listing for sleep apnea, it does have listings for related conditions such as respiratory disorders, heart problems, and mental issues.

For example, if you've been diagnosed with chronic pulmonary hypertension, you may meet the requirements of listing 3.09 if you have documentation of mean pulmonary artery pressure equal to or greater than 40 mm Hg as determined by cardiac catheterization while medically stable (meaning you haven't recently switched medications, had a respiratory infection, experienced a brief period of worsening symptoms, or were hospitalized for a heart attack). Or, you might meet listing 3.14 for respiratory failure if you have an underlying disorder that necessitates a positive airway pressure machine or other mechanical intervention to help breathing.

Other listed impairments that might apply to your medical history may include listing 3.03 for asthma, listing 3.07 for bronchiectasis, listing 4.02 for chronic heart failure, listing 4.04 for ischemic heart disease, and listing 12.02 for neurocognitive disorders. Keep in mind that the majority of people with sleep apnea won't have the medical records needed to meet a listing—but that doesn't mean you can't qualify for disability.

Getting Disability with a Reduced Functional Capacity

If you don't meet one of the listings above, Social Security will need to assess your residual functional capacity (RFC). Your RFC is a set of limitations that reflect the most you're physically and mentally capable of doing at work. For example, somebody with a physical RFC for medium work is still able to lift 50 pounds and be on their feet most of the workday, while someone with a sedentary RFC is limited to sit-down work with no lifting more than 10 pounds. Your RFC can also include mental limitations such as how long you can remain focused during the day.

In order to decide what limitations to include in your RFC, Social Security will look at how tired you are in the daytime and how that affects your ability to work. For example, if you suffer from excessive daytime sleepiness (hypersomnia), you probably shouldn't operate a vehicle or hazardous machinery. Or if you get out of breath easily due to an underlying heart problem, you might not be able to walk more than a few minutes or lift more than a few pounds. Fatigue can make it more likely that you'll make mistakes or concentrate on your job, reducing productivity.

Social Security considers your combined medical conditions when deciding what to include in your RFC, so if you have other respiratory impairments (like emphysema or asthma) in addition to sleep apnea, the agency will look at the totality of your symptoms to determine what your limitations are. Social Security then uses your RFC to find whether you're capable of performing your past jobs or any other, less strenuous work in the national economy. If no jobs exist that you can do with your RFC, you'll be awarded benefits under a "medical-vocational allowance."

Getting VA Disability Benefits for Sleep Apnea

Veterans who have service-connected sleep apnea may also be eligible for disability benefits from the VA. Unlike Social Security—which only decides that you're "disabled" or "not disabled"—the VA assigns disability ratings to veterans based on how severe their medical conditions are. The more serious your sleep apnea is, the higher your rating will be.

Sleep apnea is evaluated under diagnostic code 6847 in the Schedule for Rating Disabilities. The chart below shows what symptoms you'll need to show in order to get a corresponding disability rating from the VA.

Your disability rating is a key factor in determining how much you'll receive in monthly VA compensation. If you've been diagnosed with sleep apnea but you don't have any symptoms of the disorder, you won't be able to get cash benefits based only on that condition, but you'll still be eligible for VA health care.

Medical Records You'll Need to Qualify for Due to Sleep Apnea

Showing that you can't work at all because you have sleep apnea can be an uphill battle. Most people who've received a diagnosis of mild apnea often feel tired during the day, but are able to work around these symptoms and maintain consistent employment. You'll need to have consistent treatment for your sleep apnea as well as any related or underlying disorders.

When reviewing disability applications based on sleep apnea, examiners for the SSA and VA will be looking at your doctors' notes for evidence of functional limitations. Ideally, your medical records should include the following information:

• physical examinations showing difficulties you have in standing, lifting, walking, and other fundamental movements
• clinical notes from your doctors containing their observations on how you're doing during your appointments
• medications you've taken and how you've responded to them (as well as side effects)
• hospital admission and discharge documents
• exercise or stress tests demonstrating reduced exertional capabilities, and
• any prescribed assistive devices you use.

If you haven't yet seen a doctor for your sleep apnea, it's a good idea to wait until you've gotten treatment and a diagnosis before you apply for disability benefits. The SSA can ask you to attend a consultative examination on the agency's dime, but those reports aren't always helpful to your claim. It's better to establish a treating relationship with a medical provider who you can then ask to write a doctor's opinion statement on your behalf.

How Much Disability Can You Get for Sleep Apnea?

Neither the SSA nor the VA calculates your disability payments based on the type of disabling condition you have. If you're awarded benefits, the size of your Social Security check will depend on the type of disability benefit program you're eligible for, while the VA uses a combination of your rating percentage and your living situation to determine how much you'll receive every month.

Social Security offers two cash benefits for disabled adults—Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). You can qualify for SSDI benefits by contributing to the program via payroll or self-employment taxes, which earns you "insured status." If you don't have insured status at the time you become disabled, you won't be able to receive SSDI benefits. SSI is a needs-based benefit where eligibility is determined by having income and assets below a certain threshold, regardless of your work history. If you have resources in excess of the program requirements, you won't be able to receive SSI benefits.

The maximum you can receive in SSDI for 2025 is $4,018 per month, but the average amount is much less, at $1,580. SSI monthly benefits are equal to the federal benefit rate ($967 per month in 2025) minus any countable income you have in that month. Many states provide a modest supplemental benefit amount to the federal benefit rate, depending on your living situation.

VA disability compensation is calculated using a combination of your disability percentage rating and your living situation. For example, in 2025, an individual veteran with a 30% rating can receive $537.42 every month while an individual veteran with a 100% rating can receive $3,831.30. Veterans with the same disability rating (30% and 100%) but who are married with one dependent child will receive higher payments, at $648.42 and $4,201.35 respectively.

How to Apply for Disability Benefits

Filing for Social Security benefits is a fairly straightforward process. Most claimants choose to apply online at Social Security's official website. If you're filing for SSDI, you can complete the entire application online. SSI claimants who are over 18, have never been married, and have never applied for SSI before can also submit the full application online.

You can also apply for disability benefits by calling 800-772-1213 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday to speak with a representative. If you're deaf or hard of hearing, you can call the TTY number at 800-325-0778. Or, you can go in person at your local Social Security field office. Some offices require that you make an appointment first, so it's best to call ahead and ask.

Veterans can receive both VA and Social Security benefits, although it's important to keep in mind that the two agencies have different disability criteria. Even veterans with a 100% disability rating from the VA aren't guaranteed to get SSDI or SSI, although in practice they'll likely have a strong case for Social Security benefits due to the medical records required to get a 100% VA rating. In order to apply for VA benefits, you'll need to complete Form 21-526EZ, Application for Disability Compensation and Related Compensation Benefits, which you can do online.

Getting Legal Help With Your Sleep Apnea Claim

You aren't obligated to get a lawyer at any stage of the disability determination process, whether at the VA or the SSA. But because sleep apnea can be a tricky disorder to get disability for (and few people in general are approved on their first try), you may want to contact an experienced disability attorney to assist with your application. Your lawyer can help you obtain medical records, get favorable statements from doctors, and represent you at a hearing. Disability lawyers work on contingency—meaning they don't get paid unless you win—and many offer free consultations, so there's little risk in talking to one before you apply.