GBArmy

I have a friend that has a similar hearing situation as you do. Extremely poor hearing; waited until he was 80 before I could convince him to at least try for a claim. He got a 40% rating in about 2 months. (Of course, they low-balled him figuring he would take it and be happy.) The VA Health people recommended he go for the Cochlear operation also. He got it and appealed (asked for reconsideration). Long story short, he now is rated 100%. But I strongly suggest that you try to reach out to others who have had that operation. Psychologically, I can wear you down; especially people staring and asking the same questions on what it is, etc. The very modest hearing improvement might not be worth it to you. I would expect the VA could let you know if there is a support group or something to check out.

I was trying to help a WW II veteran who apparently was discharged for medical reasons but never received a disability. He had no medical records or discharge paperwork. While tracking down his discharge, at the same time we submitted a SF-180 for his medicals. Sadly, he passed before we received his medical records. Has anyone heard of the VA making a favorable decision because he would have submitted if he received the med records just a few weeks earlier. You could say that the submital of the SF-180 was a necessary part of the claim process. We were His family could be missing out on a pile of back pay it his claim was submitted, even if rated at 10% for 70+ years?

Thank you , Tbird for sharing this site. You probably have done it many times before but I just saw it. Great resource!

I would absolutely call as soon as they said it was time for a follow-up. If they said by the end of the month (March?), just call, be polite, and say you are just following up when they suggested you to do. Squeaky wheel, you know.

From what I understand, if your disability requires that you be checked for range of motion and the C&P examiner doesn't do it, you don't tell him what to do. If the decision comes back and is favorable to you, you win. If it comes back negative or reduces your rating, you file a NOD. More than likely, you would have to get another C&P exam to include the range of motion stuff. That may be at a more favorable time relative to your medications. Anyway, I doubt that if you have to tell the examiner how he should do his job that it would go over very well with him/her. Just go with the flow.

I would suggest 2 things. Call your Patient Advocate at the VA hospital you go to and ask them what the rules are for rescheduling. They may say it's possible to re-schedule a few months out. If you can get a letter from your doctor about how the meds mask your symptoms, that might also be of help when you go for the C&P. Most importantly, whatever you do, do not skip the exam. You will be denied based on that alone.

Hi Broncovet. I see you are a regular here; thanks for responding. I was in Nam ,'70-71 ,and supposedly high blood pressure is on the short list to be added for presumptives for A.O. and i was just trying to get ahead of the curve. I have been on b/p meds so long that I don't have any recent readings that will be considered high enough to be rated. It is under control when I take my meds and I sure don't want to stop taking them for a day or two just to go and get it checked at the VA. I am rated for IHD, or coronary heart disease, but I would like the rating for high blood pressure, even if it would be 0% now. I was hoping someone might know what is needed, or how far back can you go to show what it was before meds. If anyone has gone thru it, I'd be interested in knowing.

Can we get a disability if our b/p is now under control and is consistently now under 90? I have been taking meds for a long time now and the VA only has records of it being high many years ago.