Hi everybody I have been reading on here off and on and have recieved a wealth of info from this site. I filed this claim march 2011 for hearing loss, tinnitus, High cholesterol, low back pain, ankle pain from a fracture in 1989(VA says my medical record states it was a sprain) and also I filed for hip pain secondary to the ankle because i favor the other side. My story goes back to 1992 when I left active duty and I did file for the hearing loss, LBP, and ankle pain and stiffness but I never followed through and i moved several times. I have other problems(several GWI symptoms) that i have not filed yet because a friend(who is 100%) told not to load the VA with too much info, and to get my foot in the door first. I am very happy and thankful that the process has started, and hopeful it will all work out. My paperwork says that the benefits are withheld because I got separation pay($10K) when I left active duty and that it has to be reimbursed before i get any bennies. Is this true? Is there anything I can do to change it? My 20% was from 10% lumbar strain & 10% ankle sprain. I was denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus(this is the one I was sure I would get a % on before I took the hearing test) during the hearing test the audiologist told me that the test was inconclusive because the sounds I could hear were not matching up with the sounds when he spoke words to me. On another note I was selected for a job to work at the VA, but still going through the preemployment screening. Will this affect the outcome of the job or my disability rating? thanks in advance