Personal Account Feedback?

[Usaf9498]

I sat down and typed this out and tried to put down everything that is bothering me. Would you guys mind taking a look at it and giving me some feedback. I tried not to ramble and make it all jumbled but I just have so much going through my head right now. 

Thank you for any feedback and criticism

Personal Statement PTSD.pdf

[GBArmy]

So, you are going for an increased rating for hearing; you are already rated for it now. Do you also have a seperate rating for tinnitus (ringing or buzzing sound in your ears}? That is rated as a separate disability. Some veterans don't realize that.

[Usaf9498]

2 minutes ago, GBArmy said:

So, you are going for an increased rating for hearing; you are already rated for it now. Do you also have a seperate rating for tinnitus (ringing or buzzing sound in your ears}? That is rated as a separate disability. Some veterans don't realize that.

No sir. I had not filed yet at that point. I went to get my hearing checked because I told my PCP that I had tinnitus and hearing loss. She said I should go get it checked at Audiology which is a walk in, no appointment needed. I have no service connected anything at this point. Just the claim I filed on August 8th. I claimed PTSD, hearing loss related to PTSD, Tinnitus related to PTSD and sleep apnea related to PTSD. 

[GBArmy]

ok,  what I recommend is during the exam tell them that you also have tinnus; if it is bad, they have new digital hardware that can help minimize the noise. Ask him/her examiner to please make a note  in your exam notes about your tinnitus (after you have discussed it with them.) Ask them to also note you would like to consider the noise cancelling type if possible. That would also go in the notes. The point is, audiology isn't going to have those notes if you don't have tinnitus. It is not a physical exam, so getting them to acknowledge it can be good for your claim. Don't be surprised if you get a hearing disability rating of just 0%; the trend is 10%  if your really bad. The VA just doesn't rate them high disability purposes. But with a 0%, you get free care, including hardware for life and if it gets worse, you put in for the increase. Tinnitus, of course, is a distinct and seprate disability rated at 10%; it's 10% or zip. Good luck going forward. And don't call me SIR!

[Usaf9498]

On 9/8/2019 at 11:59 AM, GBArmy said:

ok,  what I recommend is during the exam tell them that you also have tinnus; if it is bad, they have new digital hardware that can help minimize the noise. Ask him/her examiner to please make a note  in your exam notes about your tinnitus (after you have discussed it with them.) Ask them to also note you would like to consider the noise cancelling type if possible. That would also go in the notes. The point is, audiology isn't going to have those notes if you don't have tinnitus. It is not a physical exam, so getting them to acknowledge it can be good for your claim. Don't be surprised if you get a hearing disability rating of just 0%; the trend is 10%  if your really bad. The VA just doesn't rate them high disability purposes. But with a 0%, you get free care, including hardware for life and if it gets worse, you put in for the increase. Tinnitus, of course, is a distinct and seprate disability rated at 10%; it's 10% or zip. Good luck going forward. And don't call me SIR!

I had my audiology c&p exam this morning. We started with questions about when I served, where I deployed to and she made the connection and asked if I was a combat vet. I said yes, technically, because I am a priority group 6 for deploying. She asked about my job and I told her Egress. She asked me what that was and I explained that I worked on ejection seats. She said oh so you worked on the flightline? I said yes and she asked about noise levels and what caused those noises on the line. She said most people say generators. I agreed with her, generators and jet packs. She asked if I hunted before and after the military and I said yes, both. She asked if I had ringing in my ears and I said oh man, yeah, its terrible. Both ears and worse in right. I also explained that my anxiety meds made it worse and she agreed and explained what all causes tinnitus to get worse. We went through the actual hearing exam , which was much quicker than my non c&p hearing exam that I did last month.

She was either not paying attention to what she was saying, or she was trying to trick me because she kept saying we will start with your left ear but started with my right, etc. At one point she said ignore the wind in your left ear and focus on your right ear for beeps. There was no wind at all and the beeps came in my left ear. 

She came back in the room and explained that last months results were the same as this time, and that she would send the results to the rater. She said to give them 4-6 weeks for their decision and if they decided to service connect me, they will move forward. 

 

[GBArmy]

Based on what you described, I would be very surprised if you don't get  a disability for tinnitus. Flight line is a major item they are trained to i.d. So, if she said on your hearing you tested out about the same as last time; were they bad enough during your first (real) audio exam? I think she just confirmed highs and lows and just rubber stamped the first exam, but the VA exam for hearing done by the techs is done more thoroughly than the C&P exam usually anyway, so it isn't a surprise the C&P went quicker. 4-6 weeks goes by quickly; it might not take that long. though for you to find out.I would call the exam place, whether it is a VA facility or a subcontractor, and ask how soon I could get a copy of the exam. Should be a week or so, not weeks.Hearing and tinnitus are only two of the disabilities on your claim. You don't have anything scheduled for those others, and they can hold up everything until all are accounted for. 

[Berta]

GBarmy is correct!

With your MOS you should not have any problems but if you do, send them VA Fast Letter 10-35 and request they apply it to your claim.

https://vetsbenefits.net/va-fast-letter-10-35-hearing-t99876.html#.VfLYlZdLzV8

Some links here to the Fast letter do not work-I will try to find it at the VA web site.

At the above link, USAF 92 posted this link but the MOS lists seem to be out of order-all you need is the Fast Letter but you might ant to check the MOS list as well.

GBArmy I do not say it enough, your responses here  at hadit are always concise and accurate! Thank you!