I too, want to know if this forum is still active.
I too, want to know if this forum is still active.
2019 Old Town - Topwater 120 PDL, Powerpole Micro, Helix 7 Mega SI/DI/GPS
Previous Rigs:
2018 Weldbilt 1648V / Johnson 9.9. Helix 12 G2 Mega DI / Helix 5 G2 GPS
1999 Procraft 205 Pro / Merc 225 EFI. HB 998 / 798
2013 Tracker Pro 160 / Merc 25 Fourstroke. HB 958 / 798
1994 Stratos 270 VF / Johnson 150 Faststrike.
90's 15' ft. Sea Nymph / 2010 Merc 9.9. HB 598 / 570
Previous Kayaks:
2010 Ascend 10T / HB 60
2013 Ascend FS128T (Pair)
2017 Field & Stream Shadow Caster 125
And that depends on who does the test on you.
The Navy did a sleep study, and said I had sleep apnea, and gave me a machine to use.
VA did a test, and the girl told me her machine wasn't working right, so I may have to do it again, but the result I got from the was I did not have it, and all claims were denied.
Fast forward to last month, I had another test done, and they said I do indeed have it, and now I have a new machine again.
I am at 40%, and the sleep apnea would have been a game changer in my disability check.
Daiwa / St. Croix / Abu Garcia / Sufix / Humminbird / Motorguide
T & H / Power Pole / BlueWater / Loc-R-Bar / Bravo 1 / MercMonitor
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Last edited by SPOONMINNOW; 09-13-2020 at 07:54 AM.
Still active. I work for USSOCOM's Warrior Care Program helping the wounded, ill, and injured. I have also helped Vets when I can. The biggest issue for those that have been out for a long time is having/finding the documentation to show that your injuries/illnesses are service connected. The longer you've been out the harder it will be to prove unless you have solid medical records from your time in service. Even then if you've been out for years, it's difficult to show the ailments you have today were as a result of injuries suffered while on AD.
2016 Nitro Z21
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin
I was in Field Artillery in the Army from 1989-1993. When I was out processing they told me I have hearing loss. Said I will have to extend for 6 month for papers to go thru. I said heck no. I went to VA last year for help and they declined me. A guy at my local VFW to me they would help me but they wouldn't. Not sure if you have any ideas that might help. If so please shoot me a pm.
2018 Ranger Z518C 200hp Rude.
12 inch HDS Carbon
9 inch HDS Carbon
2022 Ram 2500 6.7l Cummins
CGS, I tried twice to PM you. I think either the site or I am having network issues. Let me know if you didn't get my message.
2016 Nitro Z21
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin
I have been off BBC for quite a spell but now that I am back I will be happy to help anyway I can and if I can’t I will steer you in the right direction to get any questions answered. I co- started this in 2004 and hope it helped a lot of veterans.
I would like to make a claim for my hearing. I have been out of the Navy for almost 30 years now. So I don't know if I can even make a claim. I was a boiler technician on ships my whole ten years in service. I have Tinnitus in both ears. Tinnitus is louder in my right ear than my left ear. My right ear has been operated on 4 times. The last time they rebuilt the whole inside of my ear. I am pretty much deaf in that ear. Am I still able to make a claim? If so where do I even start?
Okie,
Yes you can still make a claim. Although it will be harder to prove since you've been out for 30 years. My first recommendation would be for you to find your nearest VSO (Veteran's Service Organization). When you contact them, set up a meeting to discuss the claim, make sure you have a copy of your DD214 and any medical records you might have. If you don't have any medical documentation, bring anything else you might have that'll show the job you did, i.e. any awards, orders, etc. If you can't find any documentation at all, have them file an "Intent to File." This will give you 365 days to gather evidence and basically saves your place. They'll backpay you to point of your claim. If it takes 2-3 months to get the documents you need to file...they'll back-pay to when they received the intent. Tinnitus is rated at 10%. It's not a very big payment, roughly $140 a month.
2016 Nitro Z21
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin
1stindoor
Thank you for your help. I have requested and received a copy of all my service records. Not sure if it includes my medical records or not. I haven't looked in the envelope yet. I will find and contact a VSO as you indicated and set up a meeting with them. Again thank you for your help.
Happy to help.
Here's the local VSO information:
http://www.cacvso.org/san-bernardino-county-office/
Here's the contact information for your state:
Office:California Department of Veterans AffairsEmail:pao@CalVet.ca.govWebsite:https://www.calvet.ca.gov/Phone:800-952-5626Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/MyCalVetTwitter:https://twitter.com/MyCalVet
2016 Nitro Z21
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin
pm sent
hearing deficit and 5" 54's + 5' 38's
Mississippi River Pool 13
Ranger R93 / Merc 200
Hello. I submitted a claim on sleep apnea and was denied. My VSO told me to get a buddy statement about the sleep apnea and I did and submitted it. The VA says that it was not service connected. In the buddy statement he said that during deployment training at Ft Campbell in 2004, the 1SG asked me to move to another building, because my snoring was keeping the other soldiers from sleeping. I currently use a CPAP machine. I have been going to the VA sleep doctor for years, have been diagnosed with PTSD (20% disability), had several sleep studies done, have REM sleep dysfunction and taking 15 mg of melatonin at night. Have acted out in my sleep during periods of sleep dysfunction and hit or kick my wife, moan very loudly or holler out. What is my recourse at this point? Any help would be appreciated and thankyou for helping other veterans.
gkillebrew, to be completely honest with you it's probably going to be an uphill battle to get the sleep apnea as service connected if the buddy statement goes back 16 years. How long were you in and how long since you got out/retired? Do you have any other VA claims pending or just the one rating? It might also help if your doctor (the one that prescribed your CPAP) wrote a statement saying that your service more likely than not contributed to your sleep apnea. Look at the the wording in the VASRD regarding sleep apnea and PTSD. (which should be either a 10% rating or a 30% rating). For example a 30% rating says this:
30% rating: This rating will have the majority of the following circumstances and symptoms:
The Ability to Care for Yourself: This individual may have occasional, short hospitalizations, but can entirely take care of himself most of the time.
Medications: This individual usually requires medication to function normally.
Symptoms: Some or all of the following symptoms will be present.
– Spikes or drops in mood, like depressionThe Ability to Work: This individual will be able to work and will usually function normally. There may, however, be occasional times where he is unable to properly fulfill all job requirements. This could result in occasionally losing his job.
– Often anxious or becomes easily stressed
– Panic attacks occur, but no more than once a week
– Difficulty sleeping (nightmares, insomnia, anxiety, etc.)
– Mild memory loss could include regularly forgetting names or directions
– Often suspicious of other people, particularly ones he does not know
Social Relationships: Like his ability to work, this individual will normally have fairly stable relationships. These relationships, however, will not be great and will often be strained by the symptoms of his condition. Divorce or breakups could occur, but not in every case.
2016 Nitro Z21
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin
Thanks for this kind of info. I made a new claim back in June, this time I used one of the VSO on Fort Campbell vs my usual county rep. Time will tell if I get the magical 50% resulting in an increase of 12,000 dollars a year not being deducted from my military pension. 1stindoor you are one of a few that nudged me not to give up.
I filed in June of this year and right now the VA is estimating April 2121 on a resolution.
Happy to help. Funny enough I was finally convinced to get off my rear and submit my follow on claim after more than 6 years after reading another thread on this site. Another website we frequently use in my job is militarydisabilitymadeeasy.com. This site was started by a former USAF Officer and VA doc and it is the entire VASRD broken out into layman's terms. It's an exceptional useful site.
2016 Nitro Z21
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin
Check out VA Claims Insider
All they do is assist Vets with there claims
They got me 100% P%T from 60%
Trust me..
You won't be disappointed
....and how much did it cost you? I'm guessing somewhere between $997 and $15,000.
2016 Nitro Z21
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin
everyone I know that has been diagnosed with sleep apnea recieved a 50% va rating.