The VA did an MRI in January of neck and lower back, found out I have a bulging disk in my neck, impinging on foramina (?) space, have some radiating pain into left shoulder because of that. So for VA, I will claim:
- Tinnitus with mild hearing loss (can pass standard hearing test, but great difficulty hearing when there is background noise, haven't had SPRINT test)
- Cervical degeneration
- Degenerative disk disease (mid and lower back)
- Sacroiliac joint disorder
- Patellofemoral disorder, secondary to grade 3 arthritis in knees
- PTSD
- Chronic pain/fibromyalgia
- Degenerative scoliosis (mild curvature in upper and lower back, can probably prove that didn't exist prior to service, but may still not be considered service connected)
Arthritis will probably be service aggravated vs. service connected, even though I'm only 45. I didn't even know I had arthritis until I fell first part of last year and tore the meniscus in my right knee (not service connected on that, happened at home)....but knee pain has been constant since surgery.
Fortunately, outside of the knee surgery, I've had most everything handled at the VA, so hopefully will make the process smoother. It's the military that's making everything difficult, that's why I decided to go ahead and file with the VA to get a head start.