broncovet

Still here: If your speech recognition is 76% and you are a candidate for a CI, you not only have a severe/profound hearing loss that is compensable, but you have tinnitus and, according to the VA hearing loss manual, you probablly have both depression and employment difficulties as well. I can provide a copy of the VA's hearing loss manual if you PM me your email address, as this manual is too large to be able to upload it here. You definately need to appeal, and, knowing what I know so far, you will win, but you will have to fight the VA for everything. I recommend you go for the DRO review first, because it can be faster than the BVA. I am not sure rating specialists, or other non hearing professionals comprehend how bad your hearing is. A speech recognition of 76% means that you dont understand a fourth of the stuff you hear. I doubt that you can watch TV or movies at all without close captioning. You constantly confuse what you "hear" and misunderstood what is said. You can probably not hear virtually anything other than what is in a quiet room. If there is background noise, cars, blower motors, lawnmowers etc, you probably dont hear anything. You have poor communications with your boss, if you can even communicate or work at all. With hearing as bad as yours, you are almost like a foreigner who does not speak English trying to get a job. You deseve Va benefits including compensation for hearing loss, tinnitus, probably depression and maybe even TDIU if you can not work. It would not suprise me at all if you cant find anyone to hire you. Nobody wants to hire someone that they have to take 30 minutes to explain to him, what others can get in 30 seconds. You are at a huge disadvantage. Helen Keller who was blind and deaf said, that if she were given a choice, she would choose to keep her hearing. Her reason was that blindness disconnects your from things, while deafness disconnects you from people. She would rather be disconnected from things than be disconnected from people. I wish you the best. Its too bad the VA is going to fight you on this..you dont deserve to have to fight to get what should already be yours.

I agree with Pete. The VA is making an assumption that is probably not correct at least not with all Veterans. This policy assumes that ALL VETERANS meet ALL of the following requirements: 1. This assumes each and every Veteran has access to a phone (and can afford the phone bill while he is waiting for VA benefits, sometimes for years without payment)and can also navigate the complicated computer system answering his call. This is not always true. necessary to navigate an extremely complicated telephone answering computer to be able to even reach the required person to cancel his appointment. "You have reached your VA medical Center. Press 1 for English, 2 for Spanish." #1 If you would like to order a Prescription, press 1, otherwise go back to the main menu as it has changed. Veteran figures out how to get main menu. If you know the extension of the person you would like to speak to, enter it now. (Veteran does not know the name of the clerk who makes appointments). We did not get that extension. Please enter it again. If you have an emergency, dial 911. Otherwise, go back to the main menu again and repeat this all over again. It goes on and on. 2. It assumes each and every Veteran has a watch and a calendar, and can remember his appointments. This is not always true. 3. It assumes each and every Veteran has reliable and adequate transportaintion. This is not always true. 4. It assumes each and every Veteran is notified by mail or phone call reminding him of an appointment that may be months into the future. This is not always true. 5. It assumes the VA NEVER makes a mistakes and schedules conflicting doctor appointments. This is not always true. 6. It assumes that VA medical care is actually good enough to motivate the Veteran to actually go to his next appointment. This is not always true. 7. It assumes the Veteran has not joined the 1,000,000 Veterans waiting on the VA to pay his benefits for so long he has became destitute and can no longer afford transportation to the Doctor. This is not always true. In short, there are often very good reasons why the VEt does not show, and not all of them can be automatically blamed on the Veteran.

I have already posted that I agree with James, but I also agree with Carlie. In a nutshell, regardless of what the VA pretends, the Veteran is in an adversarial position with the VA from the get-go. The VA is looking for something to deny the claim, or award the minimum possible benefit, while the Veteran is looking to get it approved at the maximum possible benefit. These two opposing positions are adversarial in that the VA cant/wont possibly pay out all the claims rendered before it. I think an example is that many Veterans have "good days" and "bad days". Even a severely depressed PTSD Veteran, for example, could indeed have a "good day". Oh, I dont know..maybe his wedding day was a "good day"...things went well..he had a great time, and maybe things went even better for him later on in the evening. However, maybe that year he had 364 "bad" days, where he had flashbacks, violent tempers, talked to people who were not there, and he tried to commit suicide just to releive the pain from what he saw. So, the Veteran goes for a C and P exam, and the doc asks the Veteran how he feels. "Great just got married yesterday..wedding was superb, music was great, wife was beautiful. I have never been happier in my life. " I probably do not recommend that he would maximize his benefits that way. He should probably not talk about his wedding day, and maybe say something about the other 364 days when he tried to kill his boss, got arrested for violent outbursts, and was sent to a mental hospital for 11 months, undergoing shock therapy. While what he said was also true, he could also relate some other truths that may just have a better result in obtaining his desired benefit. In other words, take Carlies advice and dont tell them about the car wreck unless they ask.

Knowing nothing else but what you posted, this decision will be overturned on appeal, IMHO. The decision itself even admits Service connection when it says: "The record notes excessive exposure to noise while serving in the military." This decision is in conflict with itself! In other words the decision admits to excessive noise exposure during the military, but denies the claim anyway. That is like saying, "We think your claim is service connected, but we are denying it anyway just to see if you will appeal. If you dont appeal, it will become final in one year." I recommend you carefully read what the audiologist opined about your nexus to military service. My hearing loss claim was similar, and denied even the the audiologist opined, "Veterans hearing loss is most likely due to military service". Bottom LIne: You nedd to file a NOD. Unless your audiologist offered a contrary opinion, the BVA and Courts MUST use the audioligist opinion. That is, a rating specialist, or even a judge is unqualified to say that the military did not cause your hearing loss over an audioligist, who is qualified to make a professional opinion. The law says it this way: A qualified medical opinion can not be over ruled by a layperson. This is what is wrong with the VA. These people should know this and they either dont know this, or they know it and use it to their advantage to burn the Veteran.

Ufrustrated asked, "how does a vet with a legit claim get help from the VA then if that is their only option?" The VA is hoping you wont get help and you will give up and abandon your claim. This is the reason they make it so frustrating for us..they want us to give up and become homeless or commit suicide, and they are done with us. Each Vet who becomes homeless or committs suicide is money in the VA's pocket, because that means that Vet is not getting benefits saving the VA thousands$. Dont give in to them. They are the enemy, disguised as our friends. If they were our friends, they would not do that to us.

Pete and Allan are both right. The attorney would be "suprised" to try to collect a 30% fee. Then, the attorney would simply do a "workaround" to get his money. Here is an example: Attorney "Wins" 10,000 Retro and has a fee agreement of 30%. VA says the max is $2000, or 20%. So, attorney crafts a letter to Vet explaining that he has "good news" that the Vets fee will be "reduced" by 10% if (the Vet) simply agrees to pay for some related expenses, such as postage, copies, long distance phone calls, etc. OUTSIDE the court system, that is Directly to the lawyer. (That the VA does not know about) You guessed it. The copies, phone calls and expenses come to $1,000 or more. The Vet is so glad to finally get his retro, that he pays it. TV ads have done this for years. You get a second item "free" if you just pay seperate shipping and handling. Guess what? They just doubled their sales because the shipping and handling costs more than the item, and they ship it in the same box.

I think James Breckenridge is right. I call it the "path of least resistance" aka "water always runs downhill". Rating specialists are not interested in doing more work on a claim, they are interested in less. They have quotas and are expected to do so many claims in a day, and the last thing they want to do is to complicate a claim so it takes them 6 hours on a claim that should take one hour. An example of this is why so many claims were shredded. If you put in for, say, hearing loss, PTSD, tinnitus, and arthritis, and the VA can simplify and process just address say, just hearing loss, then it is a feather in their cap, because they "got rid of" a multiple claim by considering only hearing loss. That is, they get 6 hours worth of work done in one hour by shredding 3 out of 4 of the Veterans claims. By repeating this procedure, a rating specialist can get promoted...it looks like (s)he is working very hard and gettting lots of work done, when, in reality this employee is causing havoc for Veterans and appeals courts, and increasing the backlog. This is the method by which the VA looks for "management material"...those "hard working" employees who get lots of claims done! By using this criteria for promotions, is it any wonder the VA has such management issues? Nyc Vet's scenario is the "flip side" of this. The rater is uninterested in turning a one issue claim into multiple issues, that is by questioning if his auto accident contributed to the worsening of a previously SC issue. This would turn a one hour claim into 6 hours and make his numbers look bad. Remember: The VA has hundreds and hundreds of excuses to deny without using the most time consuming, complicated excuse to deny, that will take the rater much longer.

Wings Thank you for the compliment. It feels good to help a Vet or his widow.

Vets Lady: Also, if hubbie is 70% SC AND gets TDIU, (If he is not TDIU, you should consider asking for TDIU if he is not working), then you need to apply for Champva. Champva may cover some/all of your medication copayments. I think Champva will go back a couple years, but not before the effective date of hubbies TDIU/100% disability rating effective date.

Vets Lady: Yes, go back to your VA Medical center "Means Test" department. ASK them for refund of your copayments. Tell them your hubby is 70% and provide them with the effective date, and your applicable income. Include past years, if you think you can get money back from prior years. That is, maybe they kept charging copays inappropriately. Depending on your income, etc. you could get a check back for copayments you paid. It could be hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Remember: The VA will BURN Veteran's tax return monies for VA prescription copayments, so you could get money back, EVEN if you did not pay it!

I agree with Commander Bob. Filing a NOD within one year is always best for the Veteran, as the Veteran would have to meet the much tougher "CUE" standard if he waited longer than a year. The VA regurarly uses this excuse to deny a Veterans appeals. That is, the Veteran has a legitimate complaint with the decision, but can not meet the strict "CUE" standard, so his appeal is denied. This is a no-brainer: If in doubt, GET the NOD out! I can not think of a single example where a Veteran says, "Gee, I wish I had not filed that NOD in time". ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS it is the other way: "Gee I wished I would have filed a NOD within a year" BOTTOM LINE: It can cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars to not file a NOD within a year. Dont do it. FILE your NOD IN TIME. PS. File your NOD ON TIME, Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested, as RO Shredders LOVE to eat Veteans NOD's.

Berta Yes, I thought attorney fees were set at a maximum of 20%, so it is not clear how some can charge more. It is also not clear if they can charge the Veteran AND collect through the EAJA. Does anyone know?

Just wondering what happened to Purple. She hasnt posting anything in a while, and I was just wondering if she is ok? Has anyone heard?

Delta I wont comment on whether or not it is "worth it", because that is simply another issue. H owever, if your hubbie was sent to Vietnam, he should have written orders sending him there AND, he probably got hazardous duty pay. First, you could try asking the military for copies of his orders, tho I am not sure how to do this. However, if you are good at math, you might be able to prove he got hazardous duty or combat pay by looking at his social security pay records. See how much he was paid, then you should be able to demonstrate mathmatically, whether he got hazardous duty pay or not, because you would know his rank and time in service. You might also ask hubbie to remember some details about it. Guys often do not remember dates..heck I know I often do not remember when something happened, but I usually know what happened. Maybe he remembers some other details that only a RVN Vet would know. IN criminal law, say when a person confesses and then recants his confession, he still gets nailed when he mentions details only the killer would know. So hubbie may well be able to mention details about his service in Vietnam, that one would not know unless he was there. As an example, if someone claimed they were in my house, then I could come up with some questions about my house that only someone who had been in it would know...oh, I dont know, like what color is the carpet, or what picture did I have on the wall. jmho.

Carlie... I agree with you. When the "Note" says they "shall not be combined", this means that they are rated Seperately, that is, 10% for lateral, and another 10% inter-incisal. Lateral means side to side movement, where "inter-incisal" would mean horizontal movement within the incisor. Since your jaw bone also has TWO sides, my thinking is that there would also be a BILATERAL factor. JMHO.

I dont think the VA "Plans" anything...the VA management style is "Management by putting out fires", and involves no planning. If they did "plan" anything, why would there be massive delays of VA education benefits, when they had more than a year to "plan" for it? Another example of "planning" is the VA's failure to plan the IT projects, which wind up costing Veterans $342 million. This money, which wont be deducted from VA management bonuses, comes directly out of monies that was supposed to find its way to Veterans. The "VA" and "planning" are like "military" and "intelligence", that is, they are oxymorons and cant be used in the same sentence.

Regulations Require the VA to consider that the Veteran is seeking the MAXIMUM benefit allowable by law. Interestingly, I read something like 3 out of 5 rating specialists did not know the Veteran was seeking the maximum. It was in a survey given to rating specialists, and no, I can not supply the link as to where I read it. However, I dont think we should be suprised. This is one regulation that makes sense. I mean, think about it. HOw many employees do you know who would go to work and (when the discussion came to salary) they say something like: "Is there any way I can get a lower salary? I am seeking the lowest salary possible in order to save the government money. It isnt really that important that my family and I have nice things, I would rather take a pay cut and save the government money. Please put a request in that I can seek less than the minimum wage." For the same reasons, should we expect Veterans to seek LESS than the maximum?

Yes, you can ask for a waiver on prescription co payments. I asked, and was declined because of my wifes income. However, if your income is very low, you should be able to get a waiver. Go to the "needs test" department at your VA. You should be able to deduct medical expenses from your income for this waiver. This is especially true if you quit taking your medicine because you cant afford it. The VA is not supposed to let that happen.

Congratulations, Windy.. Your case just verifies what Berta has said...it takes an IMO to win a lot of claims because VA and QTC docs remember who signs their paychecks, and wont go against the VA. The VA often flexes its "money muscles" to get what it wants, even tho that money is SUPPOSED to belong to Veterans.

I have found the "pickings to be slim" with VA lawyers, especially in the midwest. I have heard very good things about Ken Carpenter, however, I understand he is both very busy and very selective. Frankly, we need lots more lawyers who represent Vetrans. Lawyers do not like to take Vetrans cases, largely because it is difficult for them to get paid. You see, the VA often delays claims..not just our claims, but claims who are represented by a lawyer. If the claim is delayed 10 years, and many of them are, most lawyers dont want to wait ten years for their money. Do you blame them? I spoke with an "ex" Va lawyer, who no longer takes VA cases because he got tired of waiting to get paid. It is just one more way the VA denies justice. Justice delayed is justice denied.

Marine.. You need to not walk, but run to the post office and send them a "Special Handling Request" (SHR) so they get it before Nov. 17, preferably with copies of stuff that your VARO has shredded. Mail it certified mail, return receipt requested, so when the RO says they lost your Special Handling Request, you have proof. If you dont have copies of the stuff you mailed earlier, that the VA shredded, send the SHR anyway. The way it is right now, if you dont send a SHR before Nov. 17, the VA can deny you based upon they didnt receive your SHR in time. It is like a "stautue of limitations" limiting you (the VA has no limits..they can take as long as they want to process your claim, but you had better not be one minute late) on the time to complain about shreddergate. Take no chances/no prisoners. If the VA does not respond promptly to your SHR, file a complaint with the VAOIG and consider a Writ of Mandamus. You have fought for others rights, now you have to fight the VA for yours.

RO's often do this stuff to cheat Veterans. They make you think the regs say such and such..when they dont. They do this to deny you benefits.

Yes, it does sound like things are changing at the Buffalo VARO...for the worse. So much for Shinseki, and how is going to help Veterans. As far as I know the only "help" Shinseki has done is that he has worsened the Backlog by about 16% on his watch.

As Testvet and VMO pointed out I am just a seaman recruit pain in the neck, and testvet is a Senior Chief pain in the neck. However, Fleet Admiral Veterans affairs is the Grandmaster of all Pain in the Necks.

Josh You need to file a "Special Handling Request" (for your shredded evidence), and you need to do so quickly so that it is RECEIVED by the RO by Nov. 17. Story is here: http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfmar09/nf031509-3.htm For more information about shreddergate, go http://www.vawatchdog.org/VAshredderscandal.htm I was born in Denver..go broncos!