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The VA has also given me a 0% disability for service connected IPF (Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis . NOW ITS YOUR TURN. 38 0 obj <> endobj Your VA Sleep Apnea Claim, Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC). Keep up the great work, and remember, the only way to lose is to give up! One of the most common service-connected sleep disorders is sleep apnea, which is a sleep-related breathing disorder. Local Wounded Veterans Gifted with Opportunities to Go Fishing. This illness can be hard to diagnose due to its seemingly unrelated symptoms, but do not let that discourage you. If youve filed your VA disability claim and have been denied or have received a low ratingor youre unsure how to get startedreach out to us! Winning a VA Sleep Apnea is much harder. Finally, please remember that email may not be secure and may be subject to review by unwanted intruders. Some Veterans are taking it a little further and going to the VA with this: I have had problems breathing and sleeping since I was stationed near burn-pits in Iraq and now I have sleep apnea. This is in order to be officially diagnosed. Deland, FL: 1607 South State Road 15A Suite 12 Deland, FL 32720, Satellite Offices 0 Learn how your comment data is processed. Secondary Service Connection Keep us posted Im eager to hear how it turns out! Required fields are marked *. This disorder can also lead to more complications like depression, social isolation, lifestyle restrictions, and an increase in absences from work/school. Concerningly, it is also one of the conditions most rejected by the VA, as the vast majority are regularly turned down. 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. A nexus letter is often the missing link in a VA claim. Its an essential piece of evidence. Please call for an appointment before visiting: Mail Processing Center: P.O. He is aformer active duty Air Force officerwith extensive experience leading hundreds of individuals and multi-functional teams in challenging international environments, including a combat tour to Afghanistan in 2011 supporting Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. You do not have to be prescribed a CPAP machine to be service-connected for sleep apnea. endobj aggravated beyond its natural progression by another service-connected condition (for secondary service connection). Brooklyn, NY: 300 Cadman Plaza West, One Pierrepont Plaza, 12th Floor, Brooklyn, NY, 11201 You're not alone. VA Claims insider is an education-based coaching/consulting company. Strategic Veteran would like to help you sort out what you may be able to claim and the best way to go about it. 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? There is evidence of sleep breathing problems in-service, in the Veterans service medical records, or lay evidence of these problems during the period of military service, but no diagnosis of Sleep Apnea in-service. How to Hire an Attorney For Your VA Claim or Appeal. Do you have questions about how to service connect sleep apnea claims? You're not alone. .{}p/=jyWG0j#kdLl%*~ P5O1A S-<9o2xmBV1 G(7H^1rnWI\8@I8w Hear from fellow Veterans just like you, with many of our Veteran Success Managers having gone through our programs. You may eventually get there on your own, but it may be after a series of decisions by the Regional Office and Board of Veterans Appeals. Dont make the mistake so many other veterans have. As the patient, this can be a stressful time, which is why it is so important to tell your doctor all the symptoms you have even if they seem silly or strange. This means you do NOT currently have the VA disability rating and compensation YOU deserve, and you could be missing out on thousands of dollars of tax-free compensation and benefits each month. At one point sleep apnea was the most prevalent service-connected respiratory disability for which claims were submitted to the VA. Concerningly, it is also one of the conditions most rejected by the VA, as the vast majority are regularly turned down. You can lose your arms and legs and still survive. IN THE APPEAL OF . I dont know if Im authorize a second run at the DRO or go straight to BVA. A medical opinion will be necessary to show these causative connection, and you will want to first service connect the sinusitis, and then argue that the OSA is secondary or argue that the OSA is secondary to the bronchitis. % All Rights Reserved. Hot Dogs for Heroes 4th of July Event This Thursday! FREE tips for veterans to stay protected, calm and informed Either way, Veterans have an uphill fight to get their sleep apnea service-connected. I have tried to connect OSA secondary to chronic sinusitis which has also been denied. This type of sleep apnea occurs when your throat muscles intermittently relax and block your airway during sleep. Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder in which breathing is repeatedly interrupted during the course of sleep. Signup to never miss a beat with special offers, blog updates, exclusive trainings, and more delivered right to your inbox! Service Connection for Sleep Apnea and Sinusitis To file any claim for VA disability benefits, veterans will generally first need to become service connected. No current sleep study within the last 12 months, #2. 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. Its over 165 pages long, and took 9 months of research. Both anxiety and depression can also be linked to sleep apnea. The question raised in this case is whether this "intermediate step" is limited to . 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. injury case. The first requirement which must be met to satisfy the VA is a sleep study. Veterans Court reminds the VA: the BVA must adjudicate the logically related informal claim. (6.[,P)BLd?8e:}]eS8Sx| XvKdEP,Zbl65k8 x!KSToHjbrC. 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. Microsoft Word 2010 %PDF-1.4 % b4RmeCF$ZelpKT+ise$._DSah#Yxm CPGtef%gMvHPMO_'QXfk3xk9R-bxUqJ4rzWhixgi7-]ng)T2i:P z"/oCw.8{N A\c\FOl>jlh@7p If you are hurt at work, this is the firm you want on YOUR side. If you want to learn how to implement these strategies to get the VA benefits you deserve, click here to speak with a VA claim expert for free. A couple things you mention are worth exploring: Damage to the nasal or breathing passages, like chronic sinusitis or bronchitis, can cause OSA. 2023-03-04T21:20:56-05:00 This opens doors for many veterans who were unable to service-connect these respiratory conditions previously. Copyright 2023 Hill & Ponton, P.A.. All Rights Reserved. Excessive daytime sleepiness is the most noticeable signal for those who live alone. You are going to have to think through your case as objectively as you possibly can. As a matter of fact, it may be easier to substantiate with medical records that the sleep apnea symptoms started after the diagnosis of diabetes. Scenario 3: The Veteran has a diagnosis of Sleep Apnea in the Military Service Records, or during the period of service. * WHERE to get the Lay Evidence that will give REAL POWER to your Sleep Apnea Claim. I have had cardiomegly X-rays while on active duty. Some people have developed CFS after having a viral infection like Epstein Barr virus, Herpes virus 6, and mouse leukemia virus, but there has been no conclusive evidence. In our experience, if you did NOT have a sleep study while on active duty and you did not get a medical diagnosis of sleep apnea in the military, you should only attempt to service-connect your sleep apnea VA claim SECONDARY to another service-connected disability. The BEST Path to Proving Sleep Apnea is Service Connected. Everyone I came in contact with there was very nice. FREE tips for Veterans to stay The VA classifies Sleep Apnea as a disability for which compensation is granted. I talked to hundreds of Veterans who had been denied VAsleep apnea compensation. Making the Sausage: Heres what you need to know about new VA Claims regulations. 203, San Jose, CA 95134 uuid:7e8f97fd-fbb3-41de-a1ee-403277269d1a solid foundation of Lay and Medical Evidence, read hundreds, if not thousands, of Veterans C-Files, Put it to Rest! I spoke with DRO via phone for 5min confirming she received my NOD and evidence. For a true diagnosis of CFS the patient must also have one of the two following symptoms: There are other symptoms that some but not all experience: Diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome can be a bit tricky and understandably so because there is no set test to make the determination. I am service connected for chronic sinusitis with a 30% rating. Even if yours is obstructive sleep apnea like we discussed here, there are still other ways to service connection other than proving you had sleep apnea in service. Many civilian doctors have NO CLUE what a Nexus letter is or the importance of it! Learn what youve been missing so you can FINALLY get the disability rating and compensation youve earned for your service. The blockage is believed to occur when the muscles in the back of the throat become overly relaxed. 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. While we still have our home base in Florida, Los Angeles, CA: 10880 Wilshire Blvd., Ste 1101, Los Angeles, CA 90025 Brian Reese here, Air Force service-disabled Veteran and Founder @ VA Claims Insider. HWnH}W#zx 8Fb$vhjKLdRCR6-kf$}9u/U(XVX= eX5e2by=t-V?l*_?,?C&{u&Q,E1[x3")KYdXD@Q2+x."]}0uLB!_ne\Ya)y,"k"Q>bV7mWnXQn ZDE(WQ 8mSNMj;vwWoDL-y9mxC~`S3t|4[& S/.TWGaxUtbw>Hk :LfNo`BYL2%*{6GuTP rzY9y+%Koa(+Ja.'Xg Elizabeth M. Walsh appeals the Board's denial of service connection for hypertension and sleep apnea. I do not response to Individual claim and legal questions, although I do catalog them for post / video ideas. Most of the time, a person just deals with it for many years until they eventually go to a doctor and undergo testing. Click Go Elite Now below to get started today and a member of our team will be in touch within minutes. Just think about our veterans from older eras. The polysomnography study records your brain waves, the oxygen levels in your blood, your heart rate and breathing, and eye and leg movements, among other criteria. In my book Put it to Rest! Required fields are marked *. Of course, I dont give legal advice on the Veterans Law Blog. HE WAS A VET, HE AND I SERVED IN NELLIS AFB BEFORE I GOT OUT,the hard way. Your email address will not be published. <>/Parent 3 0 R/Type/Page/Contents 4 0 R/Tabs/S/Resources<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text]/Font<>>>/MediaBox[0 0 612 792]/Rotate 0>> * 5- Star Lay and Medical Evidence that show you your VA Sleep Apnea disabilityaffects your dailylife. Its FREE to get started, so click Go Elite Now below to complete our 3-step intake process. It is common to have a range of motion (ROM) exercises, stretching a few minutes each day and steadily increase to build a tolerance. Tender lymph nodes usually in the neck and underarms. At one point sleep apnea was the most prevalent service-connected respiratory disability for which claims were submitted to the VA. What about PTSD? Another theory is a hormonal imbalance because elevated hormones are seen in the blood work of those who have CFS, but the importance of this is unknown as well. Portland, OR: 650 N. E. Holladay Street, Suite 1600, Portland, OR, 97232 Ill also show you: * The problem with your particular type of Sleep Apnea from the VAs perspective, * The Key Question to be resolved in EACH scenario, * Solutions to the Most Common Errors in Sleep Apnea claims. Veterans ask me more questions about sleep apnea than almost any other question about VA Benefits Law. In a study of veterans, PTSD symptom severity increased the risk of screening positive for OSA. As a fellow disabled Veteran this is shameful and Im on a mission to change it. You can lose a kidney, and live a full and complete life. %PDF-1.4 This means they make their claim without providing much proof. While proving service-connection for sleep apnea claim accepted is no longer as difficult as it once was, it still is wise to not take your chances and get it right the first time. In fact, winning your VA sleep apnea claim can feel like you just led your team to victory in the World Cup. First of all, lets explore a little about this common disability in veterans, so you understand the condition and why its important you pursue your claim and get the benefits you deserve. endstream endobj 43 0 obj <>stream Estimate your 2023 VA Rating & Compensation for FREE! Ann Margaret really took the time to explain things to me. Its an entirely different thing to mix those ingredients so that they turn into a cake. yet assertive representation for our clients. Your final VA Disability Rating for Insomnia depends upon the Top 5 Reasons for Obstructive Sleep Apnea Claim Denials (Plus OSA Service Connection Tips), Steps and Strategies: How to Prove Service Connection for Sleep Apnea, Step #1: Get a NEW Sleep Study (within the past 12 months), Step #2: Obtain a medical diagnosis of sleep apnea from a sleep specialist, Step #3: Get a nexus letter for sleep apnea from a credible independent medical professional, Lack of Medical Evidence is the #1 Reason VA Claims are Denied, Step #4: Consider secondary service connection instead of direct service connection, Secondary Service Connection Requirements. 56 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<729BA82B1983FD4B95AA1B8BF2E87A7F>]/Index[38 30]/Info 37 0 R/Length 93/Prev 108595/Root 39 0 R/Size 68/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream Hear from fellow Veterans just like you, with many of our Veteran Success Managers having gone through our programs. Thats $901.83 a month. By doing this your claim will have the best chance possible. BVA Decision Click Go Elite Now below to get started today and a member of our team will be in touch within minutes. I haven't met anybody, who's been in the military, who's worked with the VA who couldn't benefit from this service. They denied injections the doctor recommended to ease my pain. c}gn7 Ds?4S&}eLg\Qz}3l>tN`MA&DDz5:/v Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common type of sleep apnea. Winning a VA claim to service connect sleep apnea is hard. She has always had a passion for helping others and found inspiration from those she cared for. Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder in which breathing is repeatedly interrupted during the course of sleep. How to File a Claim on VA.gov (step-by-step)! While sleep apnea on its own can be difficult to connect, you have the option of connecting it to another condition already claimed. The second part can be satisfied with your existing service-connected disability rated at 0 percent or higher.