Winvet234

Your redo of the site looks great. I'm still not used to finding replies to my questions. At the top it shows my login name and then I look over the right and it has "0 messages", but Bertha informed me that she and Spike had responded again to my reply to their questions. I found their replies once, but now I can't find them. I will get the hang if I mess with this enough. There's really a lot of interesting and helpful information on this site. You've done a really good job. Winvet234

Winvet234 <script type=text/javascript> ipsmenu.register( "post-member-2359", '', 'popmenubutton-new', 'popmenubutton-new-out' ); How to rate non-service?, Today, 12:19 PM I'm doing all this for my husband and haven't got a lot of help from his DAV rep. My husband is paranoid schzophrenic and suffers with severe tinnitis. He receives 10% for the tinnitis, but have not been able to locate records about treatment for mental problems while in service. As the tinnitis worsened, his mental state went completely downhill. He has been thru the hearing with the BVA and was approved. But when he got the letter in Aug. of last year, they decided in Oct. of last year to reexamine his mental state. Despite many letter letters from psychytrist and hospitalized twice at VA, and testimony thru the hearings, they came back this month with a 10% rating for the mental condition aggravating the tinnitis. However, the GAF rating by the examiner in Oct last year gave him a 40 rating in functioning. Then they said he was totally unable to work and would be this way even if there was no tinnitis. So it's like saying regardless if you didn't have tinnitis,you are still unable to work and contends that the rating of 10% effect was warranted and that they were liberal in giving the rating. They are proposing that he be unable to handle his affairs and needs to be declared imcompetent. They want him to decide who would he want to handle his affairs. Which I have for the last 40 years. But my question is this: how can you declare someone incompetent and rate him with 10% for the mental Disability.? It's like they ignored what his psychrist letters say and other doctors. How would the 40 Gaf rating chive with 10%? He does receive 10% for tinnitis and 10% skin problems. In my research of the 38 CFR, I used 4.130, 4.126. and (3.3l0 for non-service condition that aggravates his service connected illness). When I go to the 4.130, it shows 100%, 70%, 60% and 30%. when I look at the symptoms, he has all but very few. What do they use to rate with? I know there's another complicated one to come up with a combined one, but I fail to see how this would apply. Sorry to be so long winded, but need some help in understanding how they rate. I have gotten very little help from DAV, First the first rep. that we had went somewhere else, and the one who we can't get our calls returned back. It's frustrating and he has been unemployed for 10 years.He left civil service because of functions being eliminated in his company.He fits totally the symptoms for the mental illness, but he tried very hard to not show it in the army and when he worked in civil service. He mostly stayed to himself, done his job, had no friends, is a loner.But the real stressors really affects him.Is it worth trying to fight this anymore? His claim is now going on 6 years. They make you feel when they interview you that things are looking good and they will do all they can when they examine you, but then when it come back, it was a surprise. The first DAV rep. said he couldn't see why they couldn't rate him any less than 100% disability. When we first started out, I was handling it all and then and was using the mental illness claim as service connected, but the DAV rep. said it was best to do the claim as non-service connected with aggravating circumstances to the already service connected tinnitis. Anyway. Anybody out there had simlar problems? Would appreciate any ideas if we should fight this thing or what. My husband gave the service 9 years. 1 in Vietnam and 1 in Korea. During those days you didn't dare admit that you had a mental problem. But as his wife of 40 years, I know him his long history. I picked up on right after he returned from Nam. Any suggestions are appreciated. There are some great educational issues on this site. Thank God. will accept emails.maylincar23@yahoo.com