NemosNavy

Thanks for the replies. I'll definitely check the "Benefit Summary Letter" georgia papa. Asteketee, I was wondering if the dependent claim could be the hold up and they were waiting on that to clear. I just thought it was strange to see movement so early, when I see others having to wait so long.

Hey guys & gals...A couple of questions. I submitted an FDC claim for sleep apnea (my SMRs with military diagnosis and surgery to have my tonsils out to try and alleviate the sleep apnea with acknowledgement of the records by Buffalo VARO from 2012, a DBQ, private physician records, my polysomnograph w/ CPAP, and a medical opinion from my doc using the NEXUS format with more likely than not verbage for the apnea but she also put on there my high blood pressure is also caused by the apnea...did not put in a claim for it) back in October to the Buffalo VARO. My claim stayed in under review until about 2 weeks ago when it automatically jumped to Preparation for Decision. Is it normal for a claim to jump like that and how long does it normally stay at that phase? Also I had put in a dependency claim back in October with it, and was wondering if that will delay the decision on the sleep apnea claim until thats approved? Any information or knowledge would be greatly appreciated! Thank you all for your service.

As far as the exam, you'll probably meet with an audiologist and he/she may give you a hearing test, the air blow test, and a speech discrimination test. They will also ask questions about what you did in the military. Tell them about being around the jet engines and fuel trucks. Also if you can look up VA Fast Letter 10-35 and see if your MOS has a high probability for tinnitus. They are suppose to concede tinnitus if you are a high probability MOS I believe. Also if you havent already done so, bring your private docs records/notes, they may or may not look at those.If your already being treated for the tinnitus it should help as long as you can prove the service connection. I have no idea about the sleep apnea C&P though, and hope others will chime in. Don't be nervous and good luck!

The Roark was towed back to Pearl Harbor for repairs.

A hypoapnea is an abnormally low respiratory rate or shallow breathing which causes a drop in oxygen saturation (your 88%) in your red blood cells. This causes an increase in heart rate to compensate for the decrease. The AHI or apnea-hypoapnea index is how you figure out how bad your OSA (apneas/hypoapneas divided by minutes slept I believe). Anything under an AHI of 5 per hour is considered normal and not having OSA. According to your post. your index was a 1. It doesn't sound like you have OSA or need a CPAP. The arousals and awakenings are the big thing that could be causing your headaches because you are chronically sleep deprived. Hope this helps or atleast makes sense.