paulstrgn

EED - Earlier Effective Date - the date for your award.

Depending on the exact date your claim closed it may take up to a week or more to get the back pay. Depending on what the effective date is going from 30% to 90% is a big chunk $428 single vet at 30% and $1,833 for 90% - approximately $1,400 per month in back pay (if it is over $25K it takes an extra signature). So depending on how far back the effective date goes it could be a large amount of money and it takes a while. Congratulations on hitting the 90% mark.

I did a HLR for an EED. I had started a new claim the same day I submitted a claim in ebenefits, it considered my new claim as a duplicate to the one I filed. Is what I did to establish it as being an error from ebenefits is I printed out copies of om messages from ebenefits one showing the claim I filed and one showing that I initiated a claim. Here is part of the verbiage I used in my HLR: "The system thought this was a duplicate filing since I had filed a claim earlier for major depression and then later in the day started a claim online for erectile dysfunction. This appears to be a system error/glitch and for some reason the actual effective was lost. I am submitting screen prints which shows when I submitted the claim for major depression, when I started a claim online for erectile dysfunction and where the system shows a duplicate filing on February 17, 2019 when in reality it was not a duplicate." Hopefully ebenefits message section shows that you started a claim, if so it is an easy fix for the VA. It was corrected in less that 45 days and I got my back pay. Good luck

I wanted to pass on to everyone that Buck's wife broke her hip the other day, she is doing fine now. Buck will probably be off Hadit for a while as his wife recovers. Please keep Buck and his wife in your prayers.

My question is, how is this related to your SC hearing loss? Does this condition happen because of your hearing loss or tinnitus? Remember you must meet the Caluza Triangle 1. Current Diagnosis. No diagnosis, no Service Connection. 2. In Service Event or Aggravation. 3. Nexus, or Doctor's Statement close to: "The Veteran's (current diagnosis) is at least as likely due to x Event in military service" I got them from the internet: "A cholesteatoma can happen for several reasons: You get an ear infection or injury. Sometimes after an operation on your ear, a cold, or an allergy, your Eustachian tube doesn't work normally. A vacuum is created in your middle ear, which sucks in your ear drum, making a sac -- the perfect place for skin cells to collect. Cholesteatomas caused by ear infections are the most common kind. You have a problem with a Eustachian tube. If the tube that connects your ear and your nose doesn't work the way it should, your eardrum can't handle changes in pressure well. That can make it collapse and become a pocket. Skin cells build up in the pocket and form a cholesteatoma. It forms when you do. In rare cases, cholesteatomas start while babies are still developing. Part of the lining of the ear gets trapped inside bone as it grows. These are usually found early in childhood." Here is the link https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/ear-infection/qa/what-causes-a-cholesteatoma Does your service records show you had middle ear infections? What does your doctor say that caused this? Did your ENT doctor say it was service connected (if you did not ask you would want to when you see them again)?

Mike your doctor needs to modify the DBQ and state he reviewed your medical records (your statement above indicate he had your records to review). The VA and the BVA will want to know that the doctor actually reviewed your medical records, it does not need to be specific only that he reviewed them.

I might even include lunch...lol But yes I was very pleased.

Had my call today with a senior rater for my HLR for my EED and hypertension rating. She was very nice and very professional, we talked about 30 minutes. She said it is obvious that who ever gave me the original effective date of 7/2/2019 clearly did not look at the record. She mentioned how the BVA decision was based on the denial dated 3/2016. She said she will decide the case probably next week since she was making several calls today for other veterans. We then talked about how I got the 0% for hypertension, she said the previous rater did not look at the file. She said she will look at my evidence I submitted and if it supports a 20% grant she will give it, if not she will set me up with a C&P to perform my BP check. She told me that for the hypertension the effective date will be based on when the BP check was performed, she said if I use what you submitted it will give you a 2017 effective date for hypertension. I am completely okay with this for it does make sense. If I get an effective of 2017 for hypertension and a 7/2015 effective date for SA I am good. After all it's the SA that will give me the real back pay. She also said she sees a lot of mistakes because they have hired a lot of new raters and that the training they received was lacking. As many have said here if the back pay is over $25K then it requires an additional signature. I am hoping I need that additional signature...haha I also filed the HLR via fax on 9/10/2019 and it made it into the system on Monday, I am super impressed that it is already being looked at. It appears that the AMA process is considerably faster. I have a CUE under the old system that they have had since August that is still pending.

The VA will accept a letter, but you will need a DBQ or IMO stating why she feels that the SA is related to your PTSD/depression. Without that you will have a hard time getting it connected as secondary to your PTSD/depression. Tell her that you need it for a VA claim and she might be more willing to do it. Make sure that she also states she has looked at all your medical records and why she feels it is related to your PTSD/depression.

I asked the doctor's who performed my sleep study to write one. The first doctor did it for free (but only the DBQ) and the second one I paid $450 and he wrote the IMO for me. I am not sure when you had your sleep study but you can go back and ask the doctor to write one.

Buck you are so correct, it should be very easy to get a copy of your C-File. I know if I had not got a copy of my C-File before I would not have found some errors in my file. Sadly I think they have forgot about the duty to assist part! JMO

Mike at looking at the decision it indicates that your doctor (Dr. Stargardt) did not state that they had looked at all your medical records to include VAs. I do not know that this is a true statement or not but if they did not indicate that they did look at all your medical records then that goes against you. If they did look at all your medical records did they indicate that in the DBQ? I personally had a preexisting condition prior to joining the military but was still SC because I had hurt it (my back) while in the service which made it worst. Did you ever go to sick call or doctors while in the service for any of the preexisting conditions? If so then it is SC like mine was. I would suggest going back through your military medical records page by page to see if you ever did. When I was trying to get my hypertension SC I went through my medical records and marked each blood pressure reading. I put it all in a spreadsheet and took it to my doctor so they could comment on it. Bottom line is I did a lot of the leg work for my doctor to write the IMO and I also made sure he listed he had looked at all my medical records. I also made sure there was rationale as to why he said it was more likely than not SC. JMO

It really depends on how the doctor fills out the DBQ and as you stated if you can have it service connected (SC). I had two sleep studies (done about 2 years apart and I do need a CPAP) and also submitted a DBQ and an IMO and both stated it was more likely than not SC. I have Tricare and it paid for both sleep studies and I had to pay $450 for the IMO. SA can be secondary to PTSD or depression, you will just need a IMO from a doctor to state it is secondary to PTSD or depression. I got this from the internet: Sleep apnea is rated under 38 CFR § 4.97, Diagnostic Code 6847 – Sleep Apnea Syndromes (Obstructive, Central, Mixed). Veterans are assigned a 0, 30, 50, or 100 percent rating depending on the severity of their condition. The rating criteria is as follows: “100% – chronic respiratory failure with carbon dioxide retention, the need for a tracheostomy, or cor pulmonale. Cor pulmonale is the enlargement or failure of the right side of the heart due to lung disease. 50% – if a veteran requires the use of a breathing assistance device, such as a CPAP machine 30% – the veteran is experiencing persistent daytime hypersomnolence (i.e. a condition characterized by chronic daytime sleepiness that does not improve even with sufficient sleep) 0% – if the veteran’s condition is asymptomatic (i.e. condition that is not producing symptoms) but has a documented sleep disorder

Buck thanks for the info. I have in the past faxed in a letter requesting a copy of my C-File and I believe I once used a form (don't remember which one). I was not sure if it had changed and now required a certain form to get a copy of the C-File.

Congratulations!

@Vync I will do that because you are 100% correct with the VA, they will wait 30 - 60 days to tell you you used the wrong form!

Buck I am glad you posted this. I was getting ready to request another copy of my C-File. Then there is no form to use? If so just write a letter requesting a complete copy of my C-File? Since it takes about six months to get I just want to make sure. Thank you Bronco for posting the Which form to use.

This is good news, I am happy that you were able to get the VA to make your life easier. Hopefully when you move in a year or two you have an easy time getting the VA to give you the aide you need.

I am sorry to hear about your friend passing Vync. My thoughts and prayers for your friends family and you.

For me I never had the GI Bill, I was after the GI Bill you had and the one they have now. We had to put money in in order to have a GI Bill, it was half my check back then for the first year and I was not able to afford it (at least I thought so). What little college I have is self funded and at this time I am not wanting to go back to college. When I move and retire next year I will have to check into the ILP (I know nothing about it). I will see what if anything I may be eligible for or if I really even need it. The only thing I will really need and I hope the house has one is a pool, I need to do low impact exercises because of my back and legs. Other than that I don't need anything at this time.

I plan to install them in my next house...much easier on the knees...:)

Buck they sell what is called "comfort height toilets" they are 17" - 19" high compared to the standard 15" high toilets. I have had them before and will get them again after I move, they are just easier to get up from when your joints bother you. There is not a big difference in cost for the higher toilets.

Sherk I am sorry to hear of your loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

Congratulations it is always a relief when you hit 100%!!!

Buck I understand your aggravation, but I can see why she did not assist. First keep in mind she may look healthy but she may have problems with her shoulders, back, legs, or even have a heart condition. As we all know you can't tell just by looking at someone and tell if they have medical issues. But she should have said she was not able to and would need to call for some help. If she had then then at least you would understand. Hopefully you did not hurt yourself.