PCW

One of boxes asks what disability(s) makes you unemployable. The treatment dates should correspond to those disabilities. If treated by the VA - they have access to those treatment records. If done outside then I would include them with the rest of your paperwork. Just a suggestion - if you have extensive VA treatment records it might speed up your claim to cull those out that pertain to your to your IU claim and upload them seperatly.

If your exam was done by an outside contractor, you will not be able to get a copy of it until a decision is made on your claim. If the VA did it then it will show up under the blue button within a few days.

If you haven't done so already, document your workplace problems - and if possible get backup documentation from the HR department showing your absences and submit it (with/in addition to) your claim. It's always better to give the VA cold hard verifiable facts to help build your case. I wouldn't worry about dropping out of the FDC program - the turnaround on all types of claims is pretty quick these days. I started an FDC claim 2/29/16 for TDIU and/or an increase in PTSD (rated at 70% at the time). It dropped out the FDC program because I neglected to include an employer form. My decision was received on 7/8/16 - still a pretty quick turnaround. You are most likely going to have a C&P for the PTSD increase part. Don't stress out about it if and when it gets scheduled. Look at it as an opportunity to bolster your case. Take the employer documentation with you and if the doc takes it so much the better. Make sure that that you verbally go over your workplace problems and any worsening symptoms. Be honest and forthright and don't hold anything back. If you have documented your workplace problems adequately, and backed them up verbally during your C&P, and have treatment records documenting worsening symptoms, you should be happy with the outcome. Good luck!

+1

You have a couple of different ways to go here, but first - even though you have a PTSD diagnosis, you must also have an in service "stressor" and a nexus tying them together. Keep that in mind as you begin the claim process. Secondly, the PTSD diagnosis must be by a VA Psychiatrist or Psychologist. You can get the VA diagnosis a couple of different ways: 1) Schedule an appointment with your VA doc and request a referral to mental health. He/she may ask why - just tell them you are in treatment for PTSD at the Vet Center and would like pursue treatment at the VA. It may take a few appointments to accomplish the diagnosis, however if you do indeed have PTSD the diagnosis will be favorable. An added benefit of a VA diagnosis and any following treatment is that all your treatment records are available online to the benefits side of the house throughout the claim process. 2) Or you can file, continue treatment at the Vet Center, and have the VA schedule a C&P. The C&P doctor can make a diagnosis of PTSD for the VAs rating purposes. You will be scheduled for a C&P in either case. Also keep in mind the exam is forensic in nature, and the examiner is not there to treat your symptoms. If you file an FDC be sure to include any treatment records from the Vet Center. Once the claim is submitted you cannot any add any new claim data (non VA), as it will revert to a standard claim. It would also be beneficial to you personally and your claim to show a history of treatment. Good luck!

I never received mine. I had to go to the VARO to have it printed out. Hopefully yours will arrive soon.

For the past 3 years I have used VA supplied dental insurance through Met Life. My spouse and I are covered for around $75 a month. Coverage is for $3000 year in claims. Cleanings, exams, xrays are free, and they pay 50% for crowns, implants, dentures, etc. Better than paying 100% I think. Here is the URL https://www.metlife.com/vadip/

It looks to me like they paid the claim as a first time FDC which qualified for an extra year retro. However new evidence was sent in during the claim process which should have dropped the it from FDC status to a regular claim. Looks like the VA missed that at rating time. Can they recover the monies? If what I wrote is actually happened it is definitely an over payment - 12 months worth.

If you put PTSD as the reason for UI then the VA also looks at the claim as a possible increase for PTSD (100% in this case), and/or a PTSD rating of 70% being paid at 100% due to being unemployable. Or they could deny it of course. I filed 2/29/16 for UI and my claim looks exactly the same as yours. Good luck with your claim.

Question Caliic - the last sentence of the C&P was cut off " OPINION: The Veteran's Major Depressive Disorder with Anxious Distress is". The part missing is the key to whether you get rated or not. Could you post that missing part for us?

From what I read her diagnosis is that you have a major depressive disorder and an anxiety disorder. Your 2nd stressor would seem to be related to service so you may get rated with MDD at 30-50% according to " Occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks, although generally functioning satisfactorily, with normal routine behavior, self-care and conversation". Most probably 30%. Again this is just a guess as the rater has access to all your medical records and the complete picture may make your rating more, or perhaps less.

Looks like 10% for Tinnitus as the others have said. According to my entrance and exit hearing exams my hearing improved during my 8 years - 9 months - and 23 days (but who was counting) of service, most of which was on a flight line without ear protection. Thus no SC on my claim. I paid for an outside hearing exam that includes a "more likely than" statement, so we'll see what happens on a re-file. It will be tough to overcome that improved hearing exit exam however. It would be nice to get SC - even at 0%.

Managed to get 0% skin conditions for Actinic Keratosis and Squamous Cell with 30% scarring secondary last year. I'm a Vietnam era vet - served from 62 - 70. I submitted 7 years of of both VA and outside medical treatment records, pictures of me working in shorts with no shirt on a flight line, a picture of Squamous Cell on my lip five years after discharge, a DBQ filled out by my outside doc, and a personal statement that I noticed a crack in my lip that heal and then crack again and again in 1970, and a statement that I worked most of my service years outside without benefit of sunscreen. I was stationed in Yuma Arizona, Hawaii, and a couple of tours in Vietnam. Pretty intense sun in those parts of the world. I had an outside C&P done by QTC to measure the scars. You will have to have good evidence of ongoing treatment and solid evidence of a service connection, and even then you will probably only get a 0% rating. My DBQ noted that I have Actinic Keratosis on my head, arms, trunk and legs, yet I only received 0%. The VA thinks that once treated it is cured. probably true, though the residual scarring (if any) can be rated once you have a service connection.

I'm in the same boat as you gs. My C&P examiner didn't say yes and didn't say no to a service connection. My letter stated I enough loss to be rated (most likely at 0%), but no service connection. This afternoon I have an appointment with an outside Audiologist to try and get an IMO. My entrance and exit exams show a loss, the C&P shows a loss, and my MOS got me 10% tinnitus. I just need someone to give me a "at least likely as not" in writing. Now I have to spend my own dime when the RO could have looked at "all" the evidence and made a 0% determination. And the VA wonders why the appeal backlog is out 3-4 years. Btw, I plan on doing a reopen/reconsideration with new evidence.

Just be honest and and forthright when discussing on how PTSD affects you on a day to day basis. On your worst day. Put it in your own words and hold nothing back. As Berta pointed out, familiarize yourself with the PTSD regs. Good luck.

I would go over you symptoms with your Psychologist and see if he/she comes up with a PTSD diagnosis. Has your depression increased? Did you let your Psychologist know? Treatment is the best thing you can do to help yourself.

Thanks Buck. That was a helpful link.

Being the new guy here, I have a couple of questions on the responses given on this topic (I'm trying to learn). Is a reopen/reconsideration of an initial claim the same as a DRO review with new and material evidence? The end game of a DRO could be four years out with a denial, a reconsideration could be closed reasonably quickly with a denial, and in both cases the denial letter would suggest a strategy to win. If the initial claim is denied one could submit a FDC with all new evidence and be done in a year. Under the DRO scenario it could be another 3 plus years to get to the same point. Although retro with a favorable DRO decision might be worth waiting for. The problem here is the the C&P doc supplied an crappy "opinion" that her PTSD was in reality BPD. All the rater looks at is what the C&P doc diagnosed. In my opinion the best way to fight is with solid evidence to the contrary. If she can supply the doctor notes from her private doctors, or a letter summarizing their PTSD diagnosis with a nexus, and then get a VA doc also supply a PTSD diagnosis, she would be well on her way to getting the rating she deserves. The VA diagnosis may be enough by itself, though another C&P may be requested. Assuming that all the information can be obtained, then which process is the quickest way to achieve the rating? What are the trade offs. Remand chances?

I'm sorry to hear how your C&P turned out for you. You are correct in your assertion that one must have a VA doc initially diagnose PTSD. The quickest way to get a just rating would be to get referral from your primary doc to mental health for a VA diagnosis. This may take a few meetings (I was fortunate to be diagnosed on my first appointment.). if in fact you are diagnosed with PTSD, you can ask for reconsideration of your claim with new and material evidence and go from there. Even if you are not diagnosed with PTSD the VA may diagnose you with other mental health issues and you could open a new fully developed claim for them, If you go the NOD route it preserves your retro date (as does the reconsideration) however in both cases you still need that PTSD diagnosis and then have another MH C&P for forensic evidence purposes.

One of the ways I coped was to stay so damn busy that my PTSD symptoms had no outlet. I carried 21 semester units in college, tutored, and held a pert time job. Got my AA degree, a full time job and went and got a BS degree going nights and weekends. It was only when things started to slow down the my PTSD started to rear it's ugly head. I waited so long to get treatment (40 some years) that PTSD symptoms were the norm for me. We all deal with it differently - some more successfully than others. One would hope that because I have a degree, had a decent career that it wouldn't affect the rating. I will always wonder how happy and successful I could have been without PTSD.

Went to the VA today and had a hearing test because my C&P examiner said I borderline needed hearing aids. Turns out my high frequency hearing is shot but hearing aids won't help. I told her about my C&P exam with no SC for hearing loss and my entrance exam with 10s across the spectrum and my exit exam with mostly 5s and a 0 and a 10. She said that according to those results my hearing had "improved" during my close to 9 years in the service. That can happen when one is given an entrance exam outside of a soundproof booth and an exit exam inside of one. Now I understand why no service connection was given. I'm not going to fight it - it would just cost money and further clog up the system with a possibility of a 0% service connection. If at some point I need hearing aids I qualify for them anyway. Now I can concentrate my energies on my IU claim.

It sounds as if you have your stressors down. However that is in the past (and you will have to talk about them) - what the doc is going to want to know, and you are the only one that can tell him, is how what you went through is affecting your day to day life. On your worst day. Don't worry about percentages, you are you, and although you may share the same experiences as your close buddies, how they affect you is unique to you. Be honest, don't hold back anything. Get treatment, try and get better, and let the percentages fall where they may. If after all this you feel you have been given a lower rating than you deserve, then there are avenues you can pursue. There are very knowledgeable people here that can help you if that is the case. The best way to avoid the long road of appeals is to present clearly and concisely to the C&P doc how PTSD affects you.

Finally got my rating letter after doing an FOI. The original was lost in the mail. Berta asked me post the exact statement for my SC hearing loss denial from my rating letter. Her request came from a post I submitted in success stories and I will do so at the bottom of this post. To support my hearing hearing loss contention I submitted my incoming hearing test which had 10s across the spectrum. On my separation hearing test some nine years later there were pretty much 5s with one 10 and a 0. I think what got me was the C&P. The examiner opined that it was as likely as not to have happened in the service, but then checked no, and commented there was no medical evidence to to prove it happened in service. Confusing I know. Tinnitus at 10% went through without a hitch. I am now going to pay for a hearing test and a letter stating it "likely as not" happened in service. I wish I had a copy of the C&P, but my DAV rep told me the contents of it. I have another trip to the Los Angeles in the offing to get all my C&P copies (done by QTC). I am also going to apply for IU. My initial C&P for PTSD was completed mid-September 2015 and my total disability rating is 80%. I see my mental heath docs twice a week and am on medication. I do have a few ways I can go about the submission of both these contentions: 1) Get a medical letter supporting hearing loss with both my entrance/exit hearing exams and a letter from a VA psychiatrist/psychologist stating that I am unemployable and submit a new FDC using both hearing and PTSD as justification. 2) Get a medical letter supporting hearing loss with both my entrance/exit hearing exams and ask for a reconsideration, and an FDC for IU. 3) File NOD for hearing and a FDC for IU. Any suggestions over which is better over another? I realize that I my percentage for hearing is probably 0%, but being SC is what I believe should be the correct rating. Here is the content of the rating letter for both PTSD and hearing loss. Any comments and suggestions are most welcome. 1. Service connection for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), panic disorder, persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia). Service connection for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), panic disorder, persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia) has been established as directly related to military service. An evaluation of 70 percent is assigned from April 6, 2014.The claim was filed on VA Form 21-526EZ. The requirements for processing under our FDC program were met. Therefore, a one year retroactive effective date is warranted. We have assigned a 70 percent evaluation for your post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), panic disorder, persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia) based on: • Occupational and social impairment, with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood • Suspiciousness • Depressed mood • Suicidal ideation • Disturbances of motivation and mood • Panic attacks more than once a week • Difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances • Difficulty in adapting to work • Inability to establish and maintain effective relationships • Flattened affect • Difficulty in adapting to a worklike setting • Anxiety • Difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships The overall evidentiary record shows that the severity of your disability most closely approximates the criteria for a 70 percent disability evaluation. 5. Service connection for bilateral hearing loss. Service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied because your hearing loss has not been linked to service. Service connection may not be established for disability due to impaired hearing unless the auditory threshold in any of the frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, 3000 or 4000 Hertz is 40 decibels or greater; or the auditory thresholds for at least three of the frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, 3000 or 4000 Hertz are 26 decibels or greater; or speech recognition scores using the Maryland CNC Test are less than 94 percent. (38 CFR 3.385). There are no audiometric findings in your service treatment records that meet the above requirements. Although hearing loss is not shown in-service, acoustic trauma or military noise exposure may constitute injury of the ear. However, in this case, acoustic trauma is not shown by the evidence of record. VA examination findings show the left ear with 100 percent discrimination. Decibel (dB) loss at the puretone threshold of 500 Hertz (Hz) is 25, at 1000 Hz is 30, at 2000 Hz is 15, at 3000 Hz is 25, and at 4000 Hz is 60. The average decibel loss is 33 in the left ear. The right ear shows a speech discrimination of 100 percent. Your right ear Decibel (dB) loss at the puretone threshold of 500 Hertz (Hz) is 20, at 1000 Hz is 30, at 2000 Hz is 15, at 3000 Hz is 20, and at 4000 Hz is 70. The average decibel loss is 34 in the right ear. The evidence shows that you currently have hearing loss for VA purposes, but service connection cannot be granted without a medical link between your hearing loss and military service. Although you currently have a hearing loss for VA purposes, there is no medical link between your hearing loss and service. In the absence of such a link, service connection may not be granted. In addition, there is no evidence that disabling sensorineural hearing loss manifested itself to a compensable degree within a year of service. The VA examiner reported the etiology for hearing loss after reviewing medical records showed normal hearing at separation and no change in thresholds were recorded during military service. Service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied since this condition neither occurred in nor was caused by service.

It turns out my claims letter was sent 11/16 but I never received it. Did a FOI today and finally got a copy at the Los Angeles RO. I was running late and forgot to get copies of my QTC C&Ps. Oh well, it looks like I'll have to make another trip south. There was a gorgeous sunrise today just south of Santa Barbra - made the trip all the more worthwhile.

According to ebennies I am 80% disabled. Retro has hit the the bank as well as the 12/1 payment. I received a BBE dated 12/3 that contained a Veterans Health Benefits Handbook with cover letter announcing same, a notice of privacy practices, and a Rights To Appeal document, and nothing else. Is there a another BBE in the system somewhere with the decision information enclosed? I was gratified to read that according to the appeal document a "careful and compassionate decision had been reached on my claim". It would be nice to have some information they used during their decision making process and well as the whys and wherefores of the decision. All my C&Ps were done outside the VA. I do have a Wednesday appointment with my DAV rep. Will he be able to pull up my benefits letter as well as my C&Ps? I hope so because it is a 400 mile round trip and a lot of it in Los Angeles traffic.