38 0 obj <> endobj You may eventually get there on your own, but it may be after a series of decisions by the Regional Office and Board of Veterans Appeals. Heres what the 38CFR lists for sleep apnea: Once sleep apnea is service-connected, this opens the door for you to file other secondary claims you may want to make. The independent opinion of a private medical professional can also influence the C&P examiners medical opinion, as well as the VA rating officials final disability decision. Since many things can cause sleep apnea (like diabetes, insulin resistance, sinus problems, deviated septum, acid reflux, PTSD, heart problems, stroke, prior injuries to the head and spine, anything that deviates the diaphragm like degenerative changes of the spine, and ascites from liver disease, cirrhosis or hepatitis c), if the veteran has service connection for any of those conditions then you can add the sleep apnea as being caused by those conditions. In September 1978, she was granted service connection for bilateral chondromalacia, a breakdown of cartilage in the knee joint that causes pain when bones . From 2013-2014, the VA and BVA denied VAbenefits for sleep apnea in 76% of the appeals. Therefore, sleep apnea can be filed secondary to either a musculoskeletal condition with weight gain or a mental health condition with weight gain. Copyright 2023 VA Claims Insider, LLC. Houston, TX: 2925 Richmond Ave, 12th Floor, Houston, TX 77098 In recent years this trend has begun to turn around, but it is still one of the more difficult conditions to win a disability compensation claim for. Also, to check for the cause of fatigue a doctor may do physical examinations such as an exercise stress test to check on the function of the heart and lungs. A sleep study is critical to confirming whether you meet the clinical diagnostic criteria for sleep apnea. FromApril 2013 to April 2014, the BVA denied 76% of Veterans Sleep Apnea appeals. HWnH}W#zx 8Fb$vhjKLdRCR6-kf$}9u/U(XVX= eX5e2by=t-V?l*_?,?C&{u&Q,E1[x3")KYdXD@Q2+x."]}0uLB!_ne\Ya)y,"k"Q>bV7mWnXQn ZDE(WQ 8mSNMj;vwWoDL-y9mxC~`S3t|4[& S/.TWGaxUtbw>Hk :LfNo`BYL2%*{6GuTP rzY9y+%Koa(+Ja.'Xg Washington, D.C.: 1776 I Street, NW, 9th Floor, Washington, D.C 20006 presentit neatly andpersuasivelyto the VA. BVA denied VAbenefits for sleep apnea in 76% of the appeals. Chills and night sweats as well as low-grade fevers. This means you do NOT currently have the VA disability rating and compensation YOU deserve, and you could be missing out on thousands of dollars of tax-free compensation and benefits each month. Proving Sleep Apnea is Service Connected its the one thing I hear more about from Veterans than any other topic. Copyright 2023 VA Claims Insider, LLC. After that knee replacement, he could no longer lift weights;thesudden weight gain the resulted caused his obstructive sleep apnea. I can teach you: * HOW toproveyour Sleep Apnea Claim for any ofthe 3 types of Sleep Apnea you have. Second example.lets say the veteran has service connection for PTSD. And I found that MOST Veterans with Sleep Apnea claims and appealsfit into 1 of 4 common scenarios. Its one thing to give you the ingredients for a chocolate cake. The transmission of an email request for information does not create an attorney client relationship. I have also had a stroke. Veterans with CPAP machines have often fallen into the trap of believing that their use of the CPAP will be enough to qualify their claim with the VA. ; claim denied; hearing aids supplied but disability denied;pre-diabetic; high blood pressure. I believe the two are connected. Joints and muscles can have a lot of pain during flare-ups, and, due to the fatigue, mobility may not be something a patient can easily do. The criteria for entitlement to service connection for sleep apnea, to include as secondary to PTSD with major depressive disorder, are not met. Cognitive training is important to be able to talk to someone about CFS and its limiting factors on life, and how to cope on a daily basis. If you use a CPAP machine, then this should warrant a 50% rating. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Take advantage of a FREE VA Claim Discovery Call with an experienced Team Member. 201 Bankhead Highway, Carrollton GA 30117770-285-1198. For a limited time, you can book a free, no-obligation VA Claim Discovery Call with one of our experts. (In one study, 69.2% of veterans were assessed as being at high risk for OSA.). I disagree. Which primary disabilities make the best claims for secondary service connection of sleep apnea? However, there are more causes of Cardiomegaly than sleep apnea, so you will want a doctors medical opinoino as to whether your Cardiomegaly is related to a chronic sleep breathing disorder, or has some other origin. If accepted into our ELITE membership program, youll get free up-front access and permission to use $13,119 worth of proprietary VA claim resources, including access to our network of independent medical professionals for medical examinations, disability evaluations, and credible Medical Nexus Letters, which could help you get a HIGHER VA rating in LESS time. This means you do NOT currently have the VA disability rating and compensation YOU deserve, and you could be missing out on thousands of dollars of tax-free compensation and benefits each month. Camp Lejeune Lawsuit. A noticeable sign of obstructive sleep apnea is snoring. The most trusted name in education-based resources for Veterans. We can helpreach out so we can show you how. These temporary breathing disruptions or lapses can occur from dozens to hundreds of times per night. See you on the inside! See our tips on how to obtain a credible nexus letter. c}gn7 Ds?4S&}eLg\Qz}3l>tN`MA&DDz5:/v Brian Reese here, Air Force service-disabled Veteran and Founder @ VA Claims Insider. * A good Lay and Medical presentation and assessment of the sleep apnea symptoms you have had from service, or service-discharge, to the present day. Chicago, IL: 332 S. Michigan Avenue, Floors 8 and 9, Chicago, IL 60604 We share our top tips and a step-by-step guide to a successful claim for obstructive sleep apnea! You cut off oxygen to the brain and blood, and other body systems break down. The VA and frankly most of America still thinksof Sleep Apnea asa condition for theobese male with a big neck. They think wrongly that sleep apnea is not the kind of disability associated with a wounded warrior. Some people have developed CFS after having a viral infection like Epstein Barr virus, Herpes virus 6, and mouse leukemia virus, but there has been no conclusive evidence. Weve supported more than 15,000 veterans to win their claims and increase their ratings. If you need a lawyer, fill out a contact form at the law firm of Attig Steel: https://www.attigsteel.com/contact-us/. For instance, the rating criteria for 100% disability rating for chronic fatigue syndrome detailing debilitating and incapacitating fatigue, cognitive impairments, or a mixture of other similar symptoms severe enough to restrict your daily life and self-care significantly. %PDF-1.4 How to File a Claim on VA.gov (step-by-step)! Result: Service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, secondary to service-connected GERD, with history of esophagitis and hematemesis, is granted. Your VA rating for chronic fatigue syndrome will be higher the worse, or more severe, your symptoms are. Veterans whoare looking for the easy way to get sleep apnea service-connected will not find it in my opinion, there is no such thing. And then in three months, I got a response back, and it was a favorable response, and that just, that just blew me away. and Coronavirus. if our guys/gals have SLEEP APNEA in the field THAT COULD KILL THEM.!! If your situation is not like the one above, remember that this is only oneof the ways you may be able to win VA disability for sleep apnea. The VA is also wary of the fact that sleep apnea may well have been a condition suffered by the veteran before their time in the military. Veterans ask me more questions about sleep apnea than almost any other question about VA Benefits Law. Have sleep apnea, AO esposed, 65 in VN; being treated for mild PTSD for one & 1/2yrs. For example, if a veteran has service connection for diabetes caused by agent orange and it is a well known fact that diabetes can cause sleep apnea, then you should be able to add it to the claim. You can lose your arms and legs and still survive. As this represents a total grant . In April 2013, the RO reopened the sleep apnea claim, but denied service connection, and found no new and material evidence sufficient to reopen the tinnitus claim. Learn more about us, Veterans Disability Claim Pittsburgh, PA: 201 Penn Center Boulevard, Suite 400, Pittsburgh, PA, 15235 Direct service connection for sleep apnea may be granted for veterans who can show that their sleep apnea began in service using service medical records, and by providing a nexus opinion from a qualified medical professional that links sleep apnea to events or exposures in service. . The information contained on this web site is provided for informational purposes only and not legal advice. %%EOF In September 1978, she was granted service connection for bilateral chondromalacia, a breakdown of cartilage in the knee joint that causes pain when bones . lJ[bKeZ?LF;$Zm]=_v-ed,4cX'fd dx|F'bow+P2]yt?d(,"O49&ZSrN Alow4Qg, =5j6y-|#@T0^])0lVLi>C %+QYY/8.+9 } u& 5t=tibdx:TD?pXg,Q>UR{KE|/K(*k Here are the ingredients to a properlydeveloped claim for sleep apnea: *A solid foundation of Lay and Medical Evidence showing when sleep apnea first began to present in the Veterans life. What the doctor may do is multiple laboratorytests to rule out some other underlying cause. 38 U.S.C.A. It occurs when airflow is impaired repeatedly during sleep due to blockage in the upper airway. It is common to have a range of motion (ROM) exercises, stretching a few minutes each day and steadily increase to build a tolerance. If you have symptoms of OSA, consider obtaining a sleep study, also known as polysomnography. I have had cardiomegly X-rays while on active duty. We see that quite often with sleep apnea claims. I only have 50 days to file NOD, or file a BVA appeal within 1 year. lh20EnM.svSI}][PFkaq-h;qm,=4b~7d #XEBJkb8_]3VL ,zYvA "FJh=2b6`E\ouXj/'|fg Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder in which breathing is repeatedly interrupted during the course of sleep. I learned that to win your Sleep Apnea claim, you are going to have to put your Sleep Apnea Claim together right. They are ALL experiencing a Perfect Storm of Sleep Apnea problems: breathing disorders, mental health conditions, heart conditions and diabetes are all causing an epidemic of Sleep Apnea in our Vietnam Veterans. Copyright 2023 Hill & Ponton, P.A.. All Rights Reserved. They think of Sleep Apnea as a disease of the obese, and then they tell them one of the big Fairy Tales about VA Claims. Without a CPAP machine, the VA assigns a 30% rating. My sleep apnea is worsened when I lie on my back and I still have loss of breath.
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