CAPD CUE review

[blahsaysme2u]

below is my personal statement for my hearing loss. i beleive this might be a CUE and have outlined in my statement why i belive that. if anyone has any input on this i greatly appreciate your help! please if you have any follow up questions regarding my denials etc let me know

tahnks again in advance

PERSONAL STATEMENT:

I started having these symptoms after the IED explosion I was involved in while serving in Iraq, which I suffered a mTBI (please refer to the provided personal statement regarding the event). Before the event, I was a good student in school, usually getting A’-B’s, and never presented or was diagnosed with any attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD], language impairment, and learning disabilities. None of the other symptoms misunderstanding or difficulty “hearing” movies, songs, etc. presented them selves until 2008, after the event.

During my tour in Iraq (9/2017 -4/2018), I was also exposed to a fuel known as JP8. We used multi-fuel vehicles during our convoy missions, and JP8 was the primary fuel we used. I was exposed to JP8 at least 3 times a week (as many as 5x) during this period for missions that lasted from 8-12 hours depending on the trip. Fueling was done before and after each mission which could be as long as an hour of waiting and fueling before the mission and sometimes as long as 2 hours after a mission; exposure to JP8 fumes during this period as well as the exhaust during the missions. On long missions that required return of the same convoy we came with, we also would fuel before the return trip.

The symptoms I have are listed below:

·        difficulty understanding or following conversations with competing background noise

·        problems understanding dialogue on tv or in movies (often requiring use of closed captioning)

·        struggle to understand or make sense of song lyrics (misinterpreting whole phrases and cannot hear the correct phrase even after being told what the actual lyrics; i.e. “Wild Thoughts” by Rhianna(thinking the chorus that contains the same name as the song is saying “When I'm with you, all I get is why-thos”) and “Got Whatever It Is” by Zac Brown Band (thinking the chorus that contains the same name as the song is saying ”she goggle pennants” and the phrase “you got whatever it is” is saying “gobble gebble goo”)

·        confusion of names of people with who I have had long relationships with close alternatives names that are not correct (i.e. Diana and Deanna, Sidney and Cindy, Micaiah and Mikala)

·        strain to locate direction of sounds, in silence and with background noise

·        difficulty following conversations that are rapid fire or fast speakers

·        Frequent requests for repetitions, saying “what” and “huh” frequently

·        Misunderstanding for sarcasm or other tone and sentence cadence that give clues to speaker’s intent, which result in Inconsistent or inappropriate responses

·        sounds like listening to through water

·        difficulty understand children (while others around me understand them and help me with grasping what is being said)

·        feeling exhausted from listening

The symptoms I have experienced do not equate to an organic hearing loss (outer or middle ear or hearing loss at the level of the cochlea or auditory nerve) that can be detected by standardized puretone audiometry frequency and speech discrimination testing I have had done in the past. All my hearing tests done by the VA and from my outside audiologist reflect normal organic hearing along with undamaged structures in my ears. This lead me to seek out another explanation for the auditory problems I have been suffering with that eventually pointed to CAPD.

The VA has provided information and studies that have linked blast injuries to CAPD. JP8 was also linked in the disorder (please see below links to VA websites provided information). With these clear connections, my exposure and injuries, my symptoms and the clear diagnosis by a licensed audiologist the obvious link to service is distinct.

I also have been reporting these problems since 2008 when I first filed a claim for hearing loss. I described these symptoms to the VA audiologist at that time with no mention of CAPD as a possibility. A normal standardized puretone audiometry frequency and speech discrimination hearing test was done that showed no discernable hearing loss and my claim was denied. I again put forth a claim in January 2019, saw the VA audiologist, described the symptoms above and the result was a normal standardized puretone audiometry frequency and speech discrimination hearing test was done that showed no discernable hearing loss and my claim was denied again. This is a “Clear And Unmistakable Error” by the VA in their “duty to assist” me as the veteran in my claim of hearing problems. Regardless of how and what label is used to file a claim, the claim should be evaluated by the symptoms reported by a veteran, and if further testing or examinations are needed, it is the duty of the VA to provide these. The correct facts were therefore not before the adjudicator, resulting in a denial of claims based on the facts provided to the adjudicator at the time of review. This is not an argument or disagreement with how the facts were weighed or to correct and an earlier diagnosis to CAPD, but rather the fact that the VA failed to assist me as the veteran to have the correct examination/testing based on my reported symptoms during the C&P (Compensation and Pension) examinations and hearing testing and get those results before the adjudicator is an undebatable error. If the correct facts would have been provided, a clear service connection for CAPD would have been given in 2008. -§3.159  Department of Veterans Affairs assistance in developing claims(c)(4)

 *****UPDATE****

DID NOT FILE CUE BASED ON DTA. PLEASE READ THREAD TO SEE BERTA EXPLANATION ON WHY THIS IS NOT VALID! BUT MAYBE CUE FOR OTHER REASONS. STILL PENDING AS OF 4/17/2020

Edited April 17, 2020 by blahsaysme2u

[CAPDvet]

12 minutes ago, shrekthetank1 said:

They will always try to lowball you.  This is just my experience.  But now that you have a rating it does get a bit easier.  

They are likely scheduling me an appointment but the closest DBQ is for TBI.  So it could be a crapshot.

[ShrekTheTank]

1 minute ago, CAPDvet said:

They are likely scheduling me an appointment but the closest DBQ is for TBI.  So it could be a crapshot.

I had to do the same thing with my disease as they had only rated it a few times.  They had no place for it and so I had to guide them to where it fit the best.  I made an arguement and it worked.  It fit the syptoms and thus they went with it and sent it from 0% to 10% to 30% to 60% now.  It was a long fight but worth it!  

[CAPDvet]

24 minutes ago, shrekthetank1 said:

I had to do the same thing with my disease as they had only rated it a few times.  They had no place for it and so I had to guide them to where it fit the best.  I made an arguement and it worked.  It fit the syptoms and thus they went with it and sent it from 0% to 10% to 30% to 60% now.  It was a long fight but worth it!  

That is good to hear.  I’m just not sure how it will work out since the TBI DBQ’s don’t address my symptoms. 

[ShrekTheTank]

2 minutes ago, CAPDvet said:

That is good to hear.  I’m just not sure how it will work out since the TBI DBQ’s don’t address my symptoms. 

Have you found a condition that better fits?

[CAPDvet]

1 minute ago, shrekthetank1 said:

Have you found a condition that better fits?

I have not.  It’s categorized as a neurological disorder and TBI is the closet the VA has.  

[ShrekTheTank]

Well then you have to show them how bad it is