service connection for sleep apnea is granted

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. If youre experiencing any of the symptoms listed above, and suspect your sleep apnea arose from your time on active duty (or was or aggravated by a currently service-connected disability), you should consider seeking a diagnosis and pursuing compensation for this disability. % Perhaps theyll have to spenda night with someone that suffers from obstructive sleep apnea, hear the suffocating snoring, experience the fear that the person will stop breathing altogether, they will continue to not take seriously claims for sleep apnea. Theres so much information, so many Veterans, and so much delay that it sometimes feels like this battle will never end. Because of this all veterans hoping to receive a disability compensation rating from the VA should take the responsibility of connecting the dots for the claim themselves. You are going to have to get a LOT of 5-Star Evidence. You will need strong lay evidence that establishes what symptoms you were having in service loud snoring, apneas (stopped breathing) followed by gasps for oxygen, dry mouth upon waking, daytime fatigue, etc. The first requirement which must be met to satisfy the VA is a sleep study. What the doctor is trying to do is check all possible outcomes for the symptoms to make sure a clear diagnosis can be given. If you or a loved one suffers from CFS do not be afraid to report symptoms to your doctor. endobj I am a Veteran of United States Air Force and was awarded my first 30% in 1996 and have been fighting for my rating for 26 years I came to Perkins and Studdard in 2019 while my mom was in a terrible incident and was given to much anesthesia and through GODS Grace she was spared her life, She is disabled since 2018 and I have been struggling with my life and issues and yet I didnt call the law firm every 10 minutes or call being rude anytime, I mentioned this as I got to know Jessica more than just a phone call and Mr Studdard was always available when not working on other cases or in court, They always called back and Never had to do a call back, My Review is Simple in Life there peaks and valleys and it doesnt stop because you have issues, Perkins & Studdard took my case in 2019 in 2021 I received my 100% from VA, I Was Never Rude, I was Never Promised Success, I Was Never Lied too and I was Always Treated with Respect, Friendliness, and Kindness the Real Stuff not a (Money Thing) If You want a firm that Cares about the Client and will work on your case even through a pandemic, Will not lie, will not promise anything will communicate your case and will Give you their Best ALWAYS THIS IS THE Best Law Firm for VETS HANDS DOWN Perkins and Studdard THERE IS NO OTHER 100% we had 5 calls Total Case Thats Taking Care Of Business. Veterans are assigned a 0, 30, 50, or 100 percent rating depending on the severity . How to Connect Sleep Apnea to Military Service. They then tell the VA that they have sleep apnea and a CPAP and hope that service connection for sleep apnea is granted. In September 1978, she was granted service connection for bilateral chondromalacia, a breakdown of cartilage in the knee joint that causes pain when bones . This may be 20 or 30 years after the problems started. Even if yours is obstructive sleep apnea like we discussed here, there are still other ways to service connection other than proving you had sleep apnea in service. 1) Direct Service Connection for Sleep Apnea For direct service connection you must show either of the following: You were diagnosed with sleep apnea during your military service; -or- You must prove the onset of sleep apnea occurred while you were in service. However, this has been thoroughly disproven. We know the pain of feeling stuck, frustrated, and alone, and we want to make this process as easy and painless as possible for you. Most veterans are underrated for their disabilities and therefore not getting the compensation theyre due. injury case. Sleep studies can be done to rule out Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) or other sleep disorders preventing restful sleep. z`tsd#Ex>@"A"M@+5;$ While proving service-connection for sleep apnea claim accepted is no longer as difficult as it once was, it still is wise to not take your chances and get it right the first time. ZB{hp!=Uds~$?4Af%E)L:va4Hc_?qaH }q?OFI>4 7Q3 Make sure to have your sleep study done. They denied extra physical therapy. The problem is that many disabilities that arise in service are not actually diagnosed in service. Estimate your 2023 VA Rating & Compensation for FREE! Studies have shown that it is morecommon for Gulf War Veteransin the Southwest Asia theater compared to non-Gulf War Veterans to develop CFS, but the reason for this remains unknown. Digestion issues like IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). That said, the key here is making the connection from service to diagnosis. Columbus, OH: 100 E. Campus View Boulevard, Suite #250, Columbus, OH, 43235 How you mix them is the hard part. lh20EnM.svSI}][PFkaq-h;qm,=4b~7d #XEBJkb8_]3VL ,zYvA "FJh=2b6`E\ouXj/'|fg Secondary Service Connection . Thinking and memory issues such as not able to think quickly, difficulty remembering things, and unable to pay attention to details. * A 5-Star medical opinion, resting on 5-Star Lay and Medical Evidence, that demonstrates HOW your Sleep Apnea is related to military service. Even without a definitive cause of the disorder there are noted risk factors including being between the ages of 40-50, difficulty managing stress, and women are more commonly diagnosed (possibly because they report symptoms more often). Sounds easy enough, right? People with sleep apnea are four times more likely to have depression than people without a sleeping disorder. 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. Learn how your comment data is processed. Need a C&P exam for sleep apnea secondary to PTSD? I did not have a va physical until about 13 years after seperation from service. There are 3 ways to get it: Chris, Take advantage of a FREE VA Claim Discovery Call with an experienced Team Member. In my next article, I will explain another road to service connection: obstructive sleep apnea as a secondary disability. Give us a call at 800-477-9027 to see if we can help you. Yi-bR :z>r6iFR If you need assistance in appealing your claim for CFS,let us know here! 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. Want More Information about VA Sleep Apnea? Perkins Studdard LLC makes no representation that it can obtain the same results as reported in cases on this web site in other legal matters. Copyright 2023 VA Claims Insider, LLC. Required fields are marked *. How is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Diagnosed? You're not alone. Anxiety and depression can interfere with sleep patterns. The rate was a staggering 22%. * Can Agent Orange cause Sleep Apnea? Learn more about us, Veterans Disability Claim This is because sleep apnea is abnormally difficult to prove as a disability that is service-connected. Broadly, its defined as the occurrence of five or more breathing-related events per hour, measured by polysomnography (sleep study). Winning a VA claim to service connect sleep apnea is hard. I was diagnosed with OSA 10 years after separation. Brian isalso the CEOofMilitary Disability Made Easy, which is the worlds largest free searchable database for all things related to DoD disability and VA disability claims and has served more than 4,600,000 military members and veterans since its founding in 2013. Department of Veterans Affairs VA Claims insider is an education-based coaching/consulting company. The same can be said about service-connected mental health conditions. Sounds easy enough, right? As a fellow disabled Veteran this is shameful and Im on a mission to change it. =XG\b?pjbAp{SB~,L8G2*`'x;7i2uPC=Lo:ITXwKVm /! Even as Veterans Claims for Sleep Apnea soar, it is clear that theVA DOES NOT understand the full scope of how sleep apnea occurs, medically or factually. Your first step is to be absolutely sure about what type of apnea you have. For doing an awesome job. PTSD can cause insulin resistance (fasting Blood sugar results above 100 prove you have insulin resistance) and insulin resistance causes sleep apnea. According to the VA law, there are three evidentiary elements that must be satisfied for sleep apnea conditions to prove secondary service connection: A medical diagnosis recorded in medical records of sleep apnea confirmed by a sleep study Evidence of PTSD as a service-connected primary disability Medical opinions will be CRUCIAL, as these are not NECESSARY connections. However, if you use one, it does provide you with a higher rating. Here, nexus is the connection between your service and the current diagnosis of sleep apnea. The second part can be satisfied with your existing service-connected disability rated at 0 percent or higher. You do not have to be prescribed a CPAP machine to be service-connected for sleep apnea. Also see our post What is a Service-Connected Disability? Lets begin today's post with the Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF): It is HARD to get service connected for Sleep Apnea secondary to Depression. Newonset of debilitating fatigue severe enough to reduce daily activity to less than 50% of the usual level for at least six months. document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2016 - VeteransLawBlog.org - All Rights Reserved | Terms & Conditions | Legal Disclaimer, The Veterans Law Blog is NOT a law firm. All Rights Reserved. Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder in which breathing is repeatedly interrupted during the course of sleep. Scenario 3: The Veteran has a diagnosis of Sleep Apnea in the Military Service Records, or during the period of service. You can lose a kidney, and live a full and complete life. Signup to never miss a beat with special offers, blog updates, exclusive trainings, and more delivered right to your inbox! We offer free resources and expertise to empower all Veterans. DRO sided with VA expert (not surprise) who claimed SA was least likely as not occurred or caused by service, moreover, VA expert justified opinion by THE FOLLOWINGS;(time 12yrs since retirement, age 50 at the time of sleep study, and weight gain ?). No blog, and no eBook can substitute for legal advice from an accredited VA attorney. This is described as being foggy by patients. While sleep apnea on its own can be difficult to connect, you have the option of connecting it to another condition already claimed. Most of the time, a person just deals with it for many years until they eventually go to a doctor and undergo testing. The VA uses two options for rating most sleep apnea claims. 4 0 obj endobj Therefore you should be well prepared before submitting your claim. By showing that the sleep apnea was proximately caused or proximately aggravated by another service-connected disability you have a better chance of building your claim. Finally, please remember that email may not be secure and may be subject to review by unwanted intruders. hTOo0| I filed NOD in early 2017 request an informal DRO. IN THE APPEAL OF . HV6+jsl1q$=Yn3 N>% YQUVUOICzR4'By!-v'QZI`+2c.T\`~]Klovk*\3x9$vx%C _FjOBFECxm]WoZ>H*:zR/yuY(r( By law, there are three evidentiary elements that must be satisfied for sleep apnea secondary conditions to prove secondary service connection: The first part can be satisfied with any existing medical evidence service treatment records, VA medical records, or any private medical records, assuming you do have a diagnosis of sleep apnea. Chris, thank you for the posts and training videos you are providing to veterans. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. In a study of veterans, PTSD symptom severity increased the risk of screening positive for OSA. Instead, lets focus on one type of sleep apnea claim our firm has recently worked on to illustrate just oneof the ways to prove service connection of obstructive sleep apnea. We are sorry that this post was not as useful for you! Nexus is simply a connection or series of connections linking two or more things. Will be some time before answer but getting all the info I can. In order to help you with your secondary claim, we have put together this Insiders Guide! FromApril 2013 to April 2014, the BVA denied 76% of Veterans Sleep Apnea appeals. A nexus letter is often the missing link in a VA claim. Follow the steps below to remedy the above-listed typical reasons for denial, and youll be much closer to a winning claim! Living with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome can have a huge impact on a persons life and those around them. Veterans can also prove service connection for sleep apnea by showing that their sleep apnea began in service using service medical records, or by providing a nexus opinion from a medical professional that links their current diagnosis of sleep apnea to signs or symptoms they experienced in service. This opens doors for many veterans who were unable to service-connect these respiratory conditions previously. This illness can be hard to diagnose due to its seemingly unrelated symptoms, but do not let that discourage you. Because of my PTSD meds and sleep apnea I have gained considerable weight as well as an underactive thyroid. Heres the brutal truth about VA disability claims: The proper medical explanation of the origin of the veterans sleep apnea, Lay AND Medical detailing of the symptoms experienced from sleep apnea affecting the veteran since the onset of the condition in the service until the present day. I have tried to connect OSA secondary to chronic sinusitis which has also been denied. Were here for disabled veterans exploring eligibility for increased VA disability benefits and who wish to learn more about that process. HtT0DRO`" m)R,aep/>An)`?52nZ^ 3x3Qeo3R}8'h-=d2efHCQ Here are some common symptoms of sleep apnea: Contrary to the myth, sleep apnea does not need to be diagnosed while on active duty. See you on the inside! They were at all times attentive and on top of my case. The question raised in this case is whether this "intermediate step" is limited to . It is the only thing that kept in the fight and especially it keeps sane and focus. 1 0 obj You can subscribe to his Veterans Disability channel on YouTube. endobj As youve seen, claims for obstructive sleep apnea can be trickyyet important to pursue if youre suffering from this disability, so you can get the benefits you deserve and care you need. case, my case has settled now, and I am very happy for all Jason and his office hard work on my case, he was always there to help me out with any questions that I had or help I needed.

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