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A\c\FOl>jlh@7p Therefore you should be well prepared before submitting your claim. As a fellow disabled Veteran this is shameful and Im on a mission to change it. I have a diagnosis and a CPAPwhy arent they granting my claim?. Its an essential piece of evidence. VA Disability Claim Timeline For Active Duty Members & Veterans, Chronic respiratory failure with carbon dioxide retention or cor pulmonale, or; requires tracheostomy, Requires use of breathing assistance device such as continuous airway pressure (CPAP) machine, Asymptomatic but with documented sleep disorder breathing. If there is a way for us to improve our claims to get more granted for Vets with "GWI", rest assured, you will find it on the Veterans Law Blog. Your airway narrows and closes, leading to pauses in the breathing cycle. Winning a VA Sleep Apnea is much harder. This is because sleep apnea is abnormally difficult to prove as a disability that is service-connected. The VA disability ratings for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome are 10%, 20%, 40%, 60%, and 100% all dependent on the severity and other factors of your symptoms. If your situation is not like the one above, remember that this is only oneof the ways you may be able to win VA disability for sleep apnea. Learn what youve been missing so you can FINALLY get the disability rating and compensation youve earned for your service. In September 1978, she was granted service connection for bilateral chondromalacia, a breakdown of cartilage in the knee joint that causes pain when bones . Problems with sleep which include not being rested after sleep or difficulty staying and/or falling asleep. Jessica joined the Hill and Ponton team in the summer of 2017 and was excited to use her skills to help veterans. Ask your private doctor for a referral to a sleep specialist in your area (a good option if you have private health insurance). Jason is a excellent lawyer and if I ever need another one I would only go to Perkins,Because I believe they would be able to help me in any situation I am in need of.. solid foundation of Lay and Medical Evidence, read hundreds, if not thousands, of Veterans C-Files, Put it to Rest! Take advantage of a FREE VA Claim Discovery Call. VA Claims insider is an education-based coaching/consulting company. Do you have questions about how to service connect sleep apnea claims? Along with the record of the potential cause must also be a proven medical link between sleep apnea and the occurrence. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Required fields are marked *. The VA has also given me a 0% disability for service connected IPF (Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis . How to File a Claim on VA.gov (step-by-step)! . So, if you developed sleep apnea while in service and still carry that diagnosis, you should be granted service connection. Heres what I mean in BVA decision after BVA decision, I saw examples ofVeterans that take a look at the VA Ratings Tables, see that they can get a 50%VArating for sleep apnea with CPAP. * Can Agent Orange cause Sleep Apnea? <>/Parent 3 0 R/Type/Page/Contents 4 0 R/Tabs/S/Resources<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text]/Font<>>>/MediaBox[0 0 612 792]/Rotate 0>> The Veteran was granted entitlement to service connection for major depressive disorder in a May 2016 rating decision. I want you to think about the BEST path to proving that sleep apnea is service connected, and the BESTway to get the VA sleep apnea disability rating you are entitled to. Thinking and memory issues such as not able to think quickly, difficulty remembering things, and unable to pay attention to details. This may be even easier for you now because of a new VA new rule as of August 2, 2021. Our firm was founded in 1986 in Orlando, Florida. If you use a CPAP machine, then this should warrant a 50% rating. I filed NOD in early 2017 request an informal DRO. Portland, OR: 650 N. E. Holladay Street, Suite 1600, Portland, OR, 97232 To find the definitive guide for service-connection for sleep apnea, check it out here. Make sure to have your sleep study done. If that is similar to your situation, how do you show that link (nexus) between what was going on with you during service and the actual diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea you now have? HE WAS A VET, HE AND I SERVED IN NELLIS AFB BEFORE I GOT OUT,the hard way. For a limited time, you can book a free, no-obligation VA Claim Discovery Call with one of our experts. Were here for disabled veterans exploring eligibility for increased VA disability benefits and who wish to learn more about that process. <>stream Its over 165 pages long, and took 9 months of research. 4 Common Scenariosfor Proving Sleep Apnea is Service Connected. Brian isalso the CEOofMilitary Disability Made Easy, which is the worlds largest free searchable database for all things related to DoD disability and VA disability claims and has served more than 4,600,000 military members and veterans since its founding in 2013. This will confirm a medical diagnosis and current symptoms, especially if theyve become more severe over time. Common signs of sleep apnea include: Loud and frequent snoring Silent pauses in breathing Choking or gasping Daytime sleepiness Insomnia Unproductive sleep Morning headaches Symptoms of CFS include thinking and memory issues, orthostatic intolerance such as dizziness, weakness, fainting when upright, and much more. Do I Need a CPAP Machine to be Service-Connected? You DESERVE a HIGHER VA rating.WE CAN HELP. Sounds easy enough, right? Finally, sleep apnea is a complex condition that can present itself differently in the case of each veteran. Learn how your comment data is processed. This means they make their claim without providing much proof. A current disability (medical diagnosis in medical records), An in-service event, injury, disease, or aggravation; and, evidence of chronicity and continuity in your service treatment records and private treatment records, or, A medical diagnosis of sleep apnea confirmed by a sleep study in VA medical records or private records (sleep study in past 12 months), Medical nexus evidence establishing a connection between. In recent years this trend has begun to turn around, but it is still one of the more difficult conditions to win a disability compensation claim for. Camp Lejeune Lawsuit. All Rights Reserved. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Therefore, a well-crafted nexus letter for sleep apnea is the single most crucial document a veteran can provide the VA adjudicator to help prove service connection on an at least as likely as not basis. But if your body cannot get sleep, you will die. Long term chronic sleep apnea can cuse the heart to work harder, thus causing it to enlarge. Without a CPAP machine, the VA assigns a 30% rating. Brian is a Distinguished Graduate of Management from theUnited States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO and he holds an MBA from Oklahoma State Universitys Spears School of Business, Stillwater, OK, where he was a National Honor Scholar (Top 1% of Graduate School class). At VA Claims Insider, we help you understand and take control of the claims process, so you can get the rating and compensation youre owed by law. For instance, if you complain of being tired all the time your doctor may order blood tests to check for anemia, diabetes, and hypothyroidism all of which cause fatigue. endstream Here are a few examples of how Sleep Apnea has affected Veterans from all different eras of service: * Don D. (he asked me not to use his real name) served mostly during the Cold War was in the best physical shape of his life he was an avid weight-lifter. While sleep apnea on its own can be difficult to connect, you have the option of connecting it to another condition already claimed. Direct service connection for sleep apnea may be granted for veterans who can show that their sleep apnea began in service using service medical records, and by providing a nexus opinion from a qualified medical professional that links sleep apnea to events or exposures in service. sleep apnea is not the kind of disability associated with a wounded warrior. ZB{hp!=Uds~$?4Af%E)L:va4Hc_?qaH }q?OFI>4 7Q3
Simple tasks that we take for granted every day may cause great exhaustion for those with CFS. Many civilian doctors have NO CLUE what a Nexus letter is or the importance of it! In the year thatI spent researching theSleep ApneaField Manual, I learned that there are 39 medical conditions common among Veterans thatcan cause or aggravate sleep apnea. Even as Veterans Claims for Sleep Apnea soar, it is clear that theVA DOES NOT understand the full scope of how sleep apnea occurs, medically or factually. So, if you developed sleep apnea while in service and still carry that diagnosis, you should be granted service connection. It's almost as much work - and it can often take as much dedication. 1) Direct Service Connection for Sleep Apnea For direct service connection you must show either of the following: You were diagnosed with sleep apnea during your military service; -or- You must prove the onset of sleep apnea occurred while you were in service. In the U.S. it has been acknowledged that more education needs to be provided to doctors and nurses to give them the skills to detect CFS sooner for the well being of the patient. I do not response to Individual claim and legal questions, although I do catalog them for post / video ideas. Heres what the 38CFR lists for sleep apnea: Once sleep apnea is service-connected, this opens the door for you to file other secondary claims you may want to make. I have had cardiomegly X-rays while on active duty. 201 Bankhead Highway, Carrollton GA 30117770-285-1198. document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2016 - VeteransLawBlog.org - All Rights Reserved | Terms & Conditions | Legal Disclaimer, The Veterans Law Blog is NOT a law firm. Battle of DUAL-EXPERTS Chris, you called it!!! Therefore, sleep apnea can be filed secondary to either a musculoskeletal condition with weight gain or a mental health condition with weight gain. Digestion issues like IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). presentit neatly andpersuasivelyto the VA. BVA denied VAbenefits for sleep apnea in 76% of the appeals. You do not have to be prescribed a CPAP machine to be service-connected for sleep apnea. You will need strong lay evidence that establishes what symptoms you were having in service loud snoring, apneas (stopped breathing) followed by gasps for oxygen, dry mouth upon waking, daytime fatigue, etc. For example, if a veteran has service connection for diabetes caused by agent orange and it is a well known fact that diabetes can cause sleep apnea, then you should be able to add it to the claim. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common type of sleep apnea. I am also service connected for chronic bronchitis with a rating of 0 %. See id. Estimate your 2023 VA Rating & Compensation for FREE! Hepatitis C also causes insulin resistance. Im 50% connected with PTSD and currently have an appeal in for 100% on PTSD. Secondary Service Connection See you on the inside! I talked to hundreds of Veterans who had been denied VAsleep apnea compensation. Thousands of other Veterans in our Community are here for you. Keep us posted Im eager to hear how it turns out! Joints and muscles can have a lot of pain during flare-ups, and, due to the fatigue, mobility may not be something a patient can easily do.