ptsd So is this an official ptsd diagnosis?

[sauerkraut1977]

Need Some info My fellow Brothers and sisters. I just saw on My ebenefits account tonight the following...

Total Combined Disability

You have a 30% final degree of disability. This percentage determines the amount of benefit pay you will receive.

unspecified anxiety disorder with features of obsessive compulsive disorder and other trauma related disorder ( claimed as posttraumatic stress disorder)
30%
Service Connected
Non-PTSD Personal Trauma
07/23/2015

tinnitus
Not Service Connected

To me this seemed a bit contradictive. I mean they gave me a rating but it Kind of does not make sense. Do i have ptsd or some disorders that are service connected. Also this diagnosis does not include my issues of hypervigalence or sleep disorders I disclosed to the shrink. When and should you appeal things like this and the denial of my tinnitus. A couple of more questions if I may 1. How long does it take to get back payed and payments to start? 2. Do the rates raise every december 1st? Thanks for all and any help. God bless.

[Andyman73]

It looks like they sorta got stuck on the fence on what exactly to DX you with.  But at least you got your foot in the door.  As for tinnitus, a lot depends on what your MOS was, unless you were exposed to loud noise via combat or IED explosions.

You may see your first check today, if you have direct deposit already set up.  And the retro should follow very quickly.  Rates don't go up until February, if they are, since the VA pays on the first of the month, for the month just ended.  Like today's check is for November.  Your retro should cover August(first full month after claim initiation) through November, 4 months worth.

Also, if you have dependents, 30% is the minimum rating needed to claim them, which is what you have.  Get them listed right away, it's worth about 35$ each at the 30% rating level.

Semper Fi.

Andyman

[broncovet]

The doc made it quite clear you dont have PTSD, but rather a OCD and "Trauma Related Disorder". (TRD) You likely got "lowballed", but that depends on your symptoms.

Have you ordered a copy of your Cfile?  If not, this would be a good time to do so.  You need to read it and see if a VA doc "did" diagnose you with PTSD (not necessarily your C and P doc.).  Many raters cant/wont read so you COULD be diagnosed with PTSD on page 40 of your cfile.  

You should get compensation of about 401.75, per month,  and that should go up when VA gets "around to" actually adding your dependents.  

Its not contradictive, the VA determined your tinnitus (ringing in the ears) is not service connected, but your "OCD" and TRD      are related to service.  

Are you currently working?  

Did you get tinnitus (ringing in the ears) in service?  Did you fire loud guns or work around very noisey equipment?  What was your "trauma"...did that have to do with ringing in the ears, such as a bomb going off?  

Its likely you should appeal this, unless you feel the tinnitus has nothing to do with service, and you are working and not suffering a lot of mental health symptoms.  For example, do you get along well with your spouse and co workers?  

Mental health disorders are related mostly to "occupational" (work related), but also "family and friends" disorders.  In other words if you get along well with everyone, and are working, then an appeal is probably not in order.  

Your rating is based upon the AVERAGE loss of earnings, so if you have a great job, then you arent losing that much earnings.  

[broncovet]

If July 23, 2015 is the "effective date", and it sounds like that, then you have about 5 months retro coming.  You dont get paid for JUly, it starts in August.  

So you should get August, Sept, Oct, Nov, and Dec.  5 months times 401.75 or about $2008.75.  It will be more if VA has counted your spouse or other dependents.  You need to send VA documentation of your dependents, (spouse, children)

[broncovet]

Have you sent VA your documentation for electronic deposit, with your bank name, routing, account numbers?  If you have, you could see it deposited very soon.  If not, you should consider doing so, pronto.  

[USMC_VET]

Just remember that you are SC'd for a MH illness.  PTSD is the same as Anxiety is the same as Depressive Disorders Is the same as Obsessive disorders...not in reality and symptoms but in the VA world and how you are rated.  its the same.  No matter what they call it its rated based on the same criteria and that is based on how it affects your life. 

I was DX'd with PTSD, but to me, as far as my Rating from the VA goes, i wouldnt care if they called me today and said "ya know we think you have leaky pink elephant brain syndrome and not PTSD, but its still Service Connected and will be reflected in your C File wihtin the month."

Leaky pink elephant brain or PTSD the criteria for Mental Health ratings are all the same. 

However i do get where you are coming from in that you want the VA to recognize whats actually wrong with you, to recognize your PTSD and not keep on jerking you around.  Thats where im at with my TBI.  My highest rated compensable symptom would be migraines for that.  Im already SC fro migraines and once my appeal is done I will have a higher rating than what they would rate my TBI for.  my TBI rating wont really do me any good.  But i want to do their jobs and recognize it.

As far as Tinnitus goes.  As mentioned above, its all based on your MOS.

Ive attached the VA Fast letter on tinnitus as well as the MOS list of presumptives.  If your MOS is listed on here as "MODERATE" to "HIGHLY PROBABLE" then basically the VA will concede to you that you have it.  If you dont have that listed under you then you will have to prove up a event that caused it.

So...

1) you are listed under the moderate/highly probable.

They screwed up.  I would prepare an NOD (consider if you want to appeal anything else on your decision and appeal that on the same NOD, you have a year, no rush) and I would put down just that your MOS was listed as moderate/highly probable under the VA Fast Letter 10-35 which the VA concedes is sufficient to establish and in service event.  That combined with the current diagnosis of tinnitus (i hope that you C&P for that lists that??) warrants a rating.

 

2) you are not listed under moderate/highly probable. 

The list is not perfect.  when you look under  Navy Hospital Corpsman they considered low risk.  Well for the ones who work in navy hospitals yeah.  But our Docs that were with us in the Marines were exposed to the same Big botta booms as we were in the infantry squads.

So what you are going to have to do is establish an inservice event and get the nexus between them. 

What i would do is compile as many buddy statements as possible, if possible get as high a ranking man from your unit in there.  If you were cool with your CO then get him to basically state, that X happened on X day and it was a large explosion, etc.

In addition find a friendly local Audiologist that would provide a nexus letter for you.  Basically they will be writing that they reviewed your service history read the buddy statements and have concluded that the noises you experienced in service (or the one event if that is what you had) has caused you to develop tinnitus (subjective tinnitus)
 

here is a post i wrote about tinnitus

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj_pOGQ2LrJAhWJRiYKHcv4ADsQFggcMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhowtoapplyvabenefits.com%2F2015%2F09%2F19%2Fhow-to-win-a-tinnitus-claim%2F&usg=AFQjCNElztbpynxooEvLUm1hGtEbQ59wsA

 

 

Duty-MOS-Hearing-Loss-Probability-Chart-VA-Fast-Letter-10-35.pdf

[Sgt. Wilky]

As a former 0811 (field artillery) Marine, the VA denied my tinnitus claim while granting 0% for reduced hearing. Go figure. My MOS is a "high Probable" on that list and they still denied it. They referenced my post-deployment health survey which DID state I did not have tinnitus. Yes, I marked "no" on that survey because the Navy doctor who issued the survey to us said to only mark conditions "...that ONLY incurred IN THEATER". I already had tinnitus at that point so I marked "no". It cost the VA a years worth of back pay after I got a couple buddy statements backing up my claim.

Instead of granting equipoise to the fact that I was an 0811 versus one (1) document that stated no, they sided with themselves and against the veteran in clear violation of the law. I stated so in my NOD and the de novo review agreed and called it a CUE.

Semper Fi,

Sgt. Wilky