tinnitus I need help

[13BravoVet]

I am at the end of my rope. I sent the following to allison hickey and ron reynolds in an email. I do not know if they will respond or not. I was hoping someone here could offer some advice as to what to do next. I tried over at VBN and those people just hijacked the thread, poked fun at me, and defended the va's position. I'm new here and in serious need of help. Thanks in advance for reading this. It is pretty long.

 

General Hickey,

 

I am writing you because I do not know where else to turn at this point. I am a veteran, husband, and father to two children. I do not know how to navigate the VA system and no one will answer any of my questions so I am hoping to find a sympathetic ear in you. Lord knows, I haven't found one anywhere else.

I tried to kill myself in the Army after being told that I had an inoperable brain tumor. I was having panic attacks daily and couldn't cope with the thought of wasting away in my early twenties. As a result, I was locked in Womack Army Hospital for a little over two weeks and told they would never let me out of the psych ward until I signed chapter 5-13 (personality disorder) discharge papers. I was officially diagnosed with "adjustment disorder with mixed disturbance of mood and behavior with major depression and attempted suicide" and shown the door.

Good news is I don't have a tumor. Apparently no one at Ft. Sill or Ft. Bragg can read CT scans.

I still suffer from frequent severe anxiety attacks to this day. I have been treated for this condition a million times since leaving the Army so I filed for disability with the VA. I saw a psychiatrist for a compensation and pension exam and he asked if I drink so I told him the truth. I said “5 or 6 beers a week. It's not like I'm drinking a 12 pack every day.”
My statement of case comes in the mail and says "alcohol abuse disorder claimed as anxiety condition. Willful misconduct". The c&p psychiatrist stated on the dbq that I drink five or six 12 packs a week. He also said I scored 75% on the CAGE scale which is false because I responded in the negative to all four of those questions. He said I told him I am diabetic which I did not. I told him my wife is diabetic. He said I told him that a fake suicide attempt was “my ticket out of the Army”. I made no such comment. He found that statement in my STR and I never said that to the Army psychiatrist at Womack either for that matter! He said I told him that I told him I was ordered to undergo treatment with Substance Abuse Rehabilitation Services at Ft. Bragg which is not true either. He stated he could not find any record of this in my personnel or treatment record. The reason for that is because, as I told him, I requested an appointment with them because I was denied the opportunity to speak with a therapist and I knew I could see one there. She evaluated me and said I was ineligible for treatment since I was NOT an alcoholic or addicted to drugs. He said I told him that I thought my work was “beneath me”. I never said anything close to that. I enjoyed my job and had a good working relationship with my fellow soldiers.

I told him that all of my problems in the Army stemmed from the misdiagnosis of a terminal brain tumor and my chain of command didn't want to deal with my issues. This is just a short list of discrepancies I found in his assessment.

He admitted that he did not take proper notes and used a speech recognition program on his computer to compile notes that he later edited. Am I to assume that his software is faulty or that this many mistakes are not intentional?

It gets better than that though. I see a presumed condition of "adjustment disorder with mixed disturbance of mood and behavior with major depression and attempted suicide. 38 USC 1702 SC for treatment only."
How do you like that? The exact condition I get discharged for is now presumed to have occurred within 2 years of leaving active duty.

I'm service connected for my blown out knee at 0% and I am having a joint reconstruction surgery next week while the notice of disagreement I filed 10 months ago is collecting dust.
I still experience blinding migraines which I was treated for my whole time in service after a hard blow to the head from a howitzer cannon and was denied service connection for that. They granted tinnitus at 10% due to the constant incessant ringing in my ears.

The Nashville VA Regional Office is a joke. These people just change established diagnosis to suit their needs. When that wont work, they claim to have no record of in service treatment.
I filed the notice of disagreement for my knee and they sent me back to the same Nurse Practitioner who didn't even bother to examine it the first time.

She stated on the dbq that I had full range of motion, did not need assistive devices, and had no major joint dysfunction in spite of the fact that I have a hinged knee brace, ankle brace, walk with a cane, and have been prescribed crutches.

On top of that, she never got up from her desk, asked me to remove my pants, or so much as looked at my knee. I sent them a mountain of exam notes, x-rays, and mri's from two actual Orthopedic Surgeons but the NP must be more qualified than any civilian surgeon could ever hope to be.

The Army withheld all of my accrued leave and my last three pay checks. I never saw a dime of the money that was owed upon release from active duty. I was not allowed to use the Montgomery GI Bill that I contributed to during my first 12 months of active duty either. They even charged me for equipment that my chain of command said I was never issued in the first place.

I filed an appeal with the Army Review Board a few years ago and was denied a hearing. They told me that my discharge was correct.

I can't work due to the physical and mental limitations I deal with daily. I have osteoarthritis in almost every joint, migraines, panic attacks, and severe depression.. I will be completely out of commission for about 6 months after the knee surgery according to the orthopedic doctors.

This has to be a case of clear and unmistakable error because if I was treated in the Army for conditions I developed in the Army, was discharged for one of those conditions, and still require treatment for them now, how can they later be presumed? Or denied? Or rated at 0% without so much as an examination? The Nashville VARO intentionally and maliciously developed to deny in every instance of my claim. That has got to be illegal.

So what do I do?

 

I just left the Nashville VARO for an appointment with Vocational Rehabilitation where they closed my case. I'm not rated high enough for them to make a decision at this time. Even if I was, since I am having surgery and will need physical therapy, I'm not stable enough to qualify as I was told today.
They could have told me that on the phone so I wouldn't have to travel an hour in each direction on the interstate which does wonders for my anxiety. They could have at least told me there was no parking that doesn't cost $14 . I parked in a church parking lot 3 blocks away and begged them not to tow my car because I have no money to pay for parking. I showed up in the Voc Rehab office dripping sweat from hobbling that far to get there. The icing on that cake is that I applied in August and never got so much as a letter from them. They called me yesterday and asked me to come in today. 

 

I have no clue what to do at this point and to put it quite frankly, I'm exhausted from being constantly screwed.

I hope to hear from you but understand the demands of your position.

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading this and have a great day,

 

[13BravoVet]

Here is an email I received from thedirector of the Nashville RO today along with my response to her. Keep in mind, she is responding to my original post, which is what I sent verbatim, that she obviouy didn't read.

"October 16, 2015

Good afternoon

I am Edna MascDonald, the Director of the Nashville Regional Office of the Veterans Benefit Administration (VBA), and I want to thank you for the opportunity to be of service to you in gratitude for you serving our country. I have reviewed the communication you sent to Allison Hickey, and I have the following updates to give on your Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment (VR&E) case and your claim for service-connected disability benefits.

In regards to your VR&E case, on October 8, 2015, you completed an initial evaluation with your counselor, Candice Steward. At that time, your current 10% compensable condition of tinnitus was discussed, to include any barriers to employment that it presents. In addition, you provided information on your upcoming surgery and unavailability to participate in services. A vocational assessment was offered at the time of your appointment, but was declined.

When an application for VR&E services is received, a comprehensive evaluation must be conducted in person and an entitlement determination rendered. To be found entitled to VR&E services, your compensable service-connected disability of tinnitus would need to substantially contribute to your impairment to employment. In our review of the case, we did not find this requirement to be met. The information you presented during the initial evaluation, as well as your medical records, do not contain any reports or evidence that the symptoms of tinnitus interfere with your employment. Therefore, you do not currently meet the entitlement criteria for VR&E services. You will receive separate, written correspondence for the denial of this request and will be provided the information regarding your right to appeal this decision. To appeal, or for any other assistance from VR&E, please contact Ms. Steward at 615-695-6155.

Although you were not offered beneficiary travel at the time of your VR&E appointment, you will be reimbursed for mileage and any parking fees you may have incurred on the day of your appointment. In addition, your counselor will also contact you to determine your interest in completing an online vocational assessment, since you were unable to complete the testing in the office. Please keep in mind that this assessment is a service provided by VR&E, whether or not you meet the entitlement criteria.

 

In regards to your claim for service-connected disability benefits, VA examinations for hearing loss and plantar fasciitis were completed and the results were received on October 3, 2015. In your email to Allison Hickey dated October 8, 2015, you stated that you were misdiagnosed with a terminal brain tumor. We have accepted your statement as a claim for reconsideration for the previous denial of anxiety and scheduled a VA examination to evaluate this condition on November 12, 2015, at the Nashville VA Medical Center (VAMC). You will receive separate correspondence from the Nashville VAMC regarding this examination. Once the results from this VA examination are received, we will make a decision on all of your pending claims for disability service-connection, and you will be notified of our decision on each issue. 

 

I hope you find this information helpful, as it is my earnest desire for you to feel that the VBA is serving you with the same diligence that you served us.

Thank you,

Edna

Nashville Regional Office"

 

 

This was my response:

Ms. MacDonald,

While I appreciate you taking the time to respond, I do have a couple additional concerns. Firstly, I did not pay for parking. As I stated in the letter, I parked in a church lot and pleaded with their staff not to tow my vehicle. Second, as  stated in the letter, I knew why I was denied vr&e. My issue was that they called me the day before and asked me to come in just to tell me I didn't qualify which they could have done over the phone the day before.
I have also mentioned the tumor diagnosis numerous times before this letter in my claims for migraines and anxiety. My main issues are concerning the medical providers at my c&p exams. I never received an examination for my knees and yet the provider completed a dbq as though I had. My original psychiatric exam is riddled with inaccuracies and some downright fabrications. I have completed a 6 page point by point rebuttal concerning this.
Again, while I do very much appreciate you taking the time to respond, I honestly feel as though you have not read the letter I sent General Hickey in its entirety.
I am available to answer any questions you may have regarding this at your convenience.
Thanks again and have a great day,

[13BravoVet]

12 more days and no response from Edna. I had the exam in murfreesboro last week not in Nashville on November 12th as she said.

They have not marked it as reviewed yet (8 days later) so I can't access it in blue button.  They requested a review for migraines and the doctor did nothing but quote the original decision (denial). My civilian docs think I have a tbi from that howitzer hitting me in the head. The way they explained it, all the symptoms I have fit. It doesn't matter though since my str is gone to the shredder apparently. I have never seen it and never will. Every time I request it, they send me a dd214. I should have died in 2001. My family is screwed because I'm useless now and don't even have life insurance. I applied for ssdi months ago and I expect my denial whenever I'm done going to their appointments. Got to see another damned psychiatrist for them next week.

[Andyman73]

If you haven't spoken with a lawyer specializing in Veteran's issues and VA claims, perhaps now is the time to do that.

[13BravoVet]

Ok......Everything went 180 in the past couple weeks.
 I was awarded 100% for PTSD and referred for further testing for TBI. The effective date they gave me is 10-08-2015 which is wrong since my previous claim for anxiety/depression is still open.  I reached out to Ted Ebert who said he is aware of the wrong date and is working it on his end. The Nashville office told me to get bent and file an appeal when I brought it to their attention the next day after the decision.

[Guest]

Congrats.....

Hopefully VA will get this right without an appeal.

[flores97]

Congratulations on the 100%, which is well deserved, 13BravoVet!! Since Mr Ebert said he was aware of the wrong date, try not to stress over it, I'm hopeful for you(and reasonably confident) that the RO will be tripping over coffees to correct that once Mr Ebert contacts them. Congratulations and hope you and your family have a great holiday season.