sleepysurf

Has anybody here (or their kids) used the Califronia CalVet Tuiton Waiver. It says something about income limits (housing, medical, etc)...if my daughter lives at home does that count as any kind of "housing" expense? Do medical deductibles count? It seems like there are many basic expenses which would then count as your support as "too high" to qualify. Just looking for feedback from anybody that has gone through this process.

Thanks jfrei. Yes I was eligible for burn pit registry, filled out questions and called and scheduled exam with VA. I agree questions are mostly about the deployments but is also sounds like a general health exam to briefly discuss past health/military service. The appt reminder actually says to bring in "relevant medical records", but unfortunately I don't have them all.

Just looking for opinions about the burn pit/gulf war registry exam. I am taking both back to back fairly soon. I have filled out all the questionnaires but I am just wondering if I should bring my partial medical records. I have my Air Force records but I am missing my Army medical records...they never transferred over to the Air Force and I am still waiting on them. I am also missing I good chunk of my civilian medical records as my last doctor never forwarded them to me. I wonder if bringing the partial records only hurts any potential claims because they only paint half a picture at best. Just curious what other people think?

OK, I'll keep that in mind. I actually went with my decision letter to VSO and was ready to file NOD but he really wanted me to wait for supporting evidence. My regular VSO was not there so I will follow up with him, he as on vacation. If I do wait on army records it should only be two more months, I definitely won't wait much past that at the most. Yes, the same examiner who rated tinnitus for right ear wrote "less likely than not that your left ear hearing loss is due to militarynoise exposure".

I did do a VA hearing test and was awarded Tinnitus for right ear based on MOS and AFSC...that is why I don't understand the denial for left ear? I'm hoping that the Army medical records which included a hearing test at ETS from active duty will show the hearing loss. That would be another reason for me to get an IMO/IME but I'm guessing I am better of waiting another two months or so before I submit the NOD and supporting Data. I still have about 9 months before the NOD deadline.

Thanks so much for that info broncovet :)...it's quite a learning process. With regard to my wrist the pain never clears up....it is always at least a little sore, and sometimes quite a bit along with cramping the really screws up the dexterity, which is actually more annoying the pain...so I will probably follow up on NOD. For my hearing loss the denial letter says that "although left ear hearing loss is not shown in-service, acoustic trauma or military noise exposure my constitute injury of the ear. Medical expertise is needed to establish a link between your current hearing loss and in-service military noise exposure. However, due to this date, we have received no medical records showing that your left hear hearing loss is due to service. ". I think this is because none of my Army medical records were considered for this, so I will follow up on NOD but regarding percentage I would guess it is 0% based on everything I have read. I did not ask for any specific rating on my initial claim so I don't think I will be specific on the NOD, just that there is hearing loss. I would rather have 0% than none. I did not claim depression, that diagnosis came after retirement and my initial claim. I honestly don't If I claim it as symptom of sleep apnea or as part of GWI. I have had a very long diagnosed sleep disorder as well but never with military diagnosis (although I put on did disclose on several webHA reviews while I was in) but have on civilian medical records. I guess my question here is if it is worth filing new claims while appealing initial claims....or just finish the initial claim process first. That is what the VSO was leaning towards.

I filed my first claim and recently received va decision. 10% awarded for tinnitus, sleep apnea denied, wrist tenosynovitis denied, and hearing loss denied. I have county VSO but I know they are very busy and want to put paperwork in good order before I file the NOD with them. I was only given audio exam from VA but no other exam. I retired from the Air National Guard and have twenty years of service. The service history is convoluted but I have all the records involved 3 DD214's (Active Duty Army and Air Force), Title 10 orders for (Air Guard), and NGB22 (Air Guard and Army Guard). My career was Infantry to start and Flightline Avionics for the latter part. I have my Air Force medical records. What I don't have is my Army medical records covering Active Duty Army (including initial entrance exam) and Army National Guard. Somehow Army records never crossed over into the Air Force but I located (after many requests) the records in MO and have requested 8 months ago. The recently confirmed that received the request but said it would be about 2 more months...I was not able to provide any Army medial records with my initial claim. I have request my C-file last week by fax and certified mail so hopefully I will receive soon. Just wondering what else I should be doing while I wait for those records to show up. Sleep apnea: The denial letter stating the sleep study date was wrong, I had it 10 years previous to the date they mentioned. So I figure I would point that out first thing. Also believe I will have evidence in Army medical records to back up the claim but there is the waiting game. Wrist Tenosynovitis: For this I have complaints on webHA and civilian medical records but it was aggravated by fall from helicopter. Stupidly I did not file an incident report, wrist hurt but also was embarrassed and just want to "shrug it off". I did have witness and maybe I could get lay statements....but this was also preexisting condition, but also aggravated by regular flightline work. Hearing Loss: I was told that I that I have left ear hearing loss but i didn't show service connection. I remember being told by Army medical on exam that I had hearing loss related to gunfire and that "I would want to keep these records.". I was very young at the time and was ignored it but now those are the records in MO that I am waiting on. I was also recently diagnosed with severe and recurring depression and prescribed medication and have long history of diagnosed sleep disorder and medication. I don't know weather to purse these as separate claims or as part of sleep apnea, which are symptoms. I do qualify for both gulf war exam and burn pit registry exam due to Kuwait deployment I and am wondering what the difference between those two are and if they are worth pursuing? I had throat surgery for diverticulum and diagnosed with barretts esophagus that could be related as well as forest fires in Idaho (Army) as well as fires during LA riots (Army Guard) and breathed in massive amounts of dust driving personal carrier in Mohave desert during 4 Ft. Irwin rotations. Once all my C-file and Army medical records show up I was considering going to the Ellis Clinic for exam and report to file with NOD...I figure I could fly out and pay for exam less than $1000 and was wondering if anybody else thought it was worth it? Sorry, that is a lot info to throw out there but I'm trying to figure my way through this claim process and would just appreciate any advice form the community. Thanks!