The first step we like to suggest (aside from starting with VA Form 21-526EZ) is to get a medical opinion from your doctor when it comes to proving a sleep apnea claim. A study conducted by the VA Healthcare System for San Diego and National Center for PTSD found that between 40 percent and 98 percent (!) The second part can be satisfied with your existing service-connected disability rated at 0 percent or higher. aggravated beyond its natural progression by another service-connected condition (for secondary service connection). You only need to establish that your sleep apnea is at least as likely as not: A nexus letter is an evidence-based document prepared by a medical professional that helps to establish a connection between the veterans current disability and either military service (for direct service connection) or another rated disability (for secondary service connection). His frustration with the8-step VA disability claims processled him to createVA Claims Insider,which provides U.S. military veterans with tips, strategies, and lessons learned for successfully submitting or re-submitting a winning VA disability compensation claim. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. This includes having a sleep study done, a buddy letter from your spouse, and medical records from your doctor about your symptoms. How to Get a 100 Percent VA Rating (if deserved)! VA claim for sleep apnea denied? Check out our Philips CPAP Recall page here! While we still have our home base in Florida, Your email address will not be published. When he got to the BVA the following evidence was in his C-File: There are many factors during and after service that make veterans vulnerable to this condition. We share our top tips and a step-by-step guide to a successful claim for obstructive sleep apnea! Being honest and thorough is important so everything can be properly documented. According to the VBA , there were over 282,300 service-connected sleep apnea claims that were awarded in 2017. Both disorders have risk factors that affect both sleep apnea and symptoms of PTSD, and the conditions can aggravate each other. The disability rating youre given for sleep apnea is combined with any other disability ratings you have, if any, to give you an overall rating based on VA math. Our firm was founded in 1986 in Orlando, Florida. He was denied support connectio nitrogen for sleep apneas by the BVA, despite extensive proof of treatment for sleep apnea away 2007 - 2014, at VE medical facilities. I applied for sleep apnea secondary PTSD about a year ago. All Rights Reserved. Learn what youve been missing so you can FINALLY get the disability rating and compensation youve earned for your service. This can occur from ten times to hundreds of times per night. Unfortunately, VA does not always apply the law correctly. Was it the blow to the throat when you were thrown against the side of the Hum-vee in that mortar attack? The Department denies these claims because they do not have sufficient evidence to conclusively say that a Veteran is suffering from sleep apnea without a diagnosis, even if the Veteran exhibits the symptoms of the disorder. As a part of the VAs duty to assist veterans in obtaining evidence to help prove their claim, the VA has a duty to assist veterans in scheduling the examination for a sleep study and helping them realize the VA disability claim that they are entitled to. Its this simple. #3: It passes through the throat muscles, between the vocal chords, and enters your lungs. This is because the fact is that many veterans suffer from PTSDand sleep problems are a common symptom of PTSD. Check out our post on sleep apnea secondary connection with PTSD here! What really makes your VA Sleep Apnea claim race through the VA disability claim system is this one thing: Your response, I imagine, might be something like this: To understand HOW the diagnosis drives a veterans VA Sleep Apnea Claim, we have to first understand the 3 different types of Sleep Apnea: obstructive, central, and complex. After first reading these examples, the obvious answer is that the private examiners opinion in VA sleep apnea claim #2 was what made the difference. High Blood Pressure Secondary to Obstructive Sleep Apnea: What Veterans Should Know Are you suffering from obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and hypertension? For a limited time, you can book a free, no-obligation VA Claim Discovery Call with one of our experts. While an OSA disability claim secondary to sinusitis/rhinitis is an easier path, veterans who are service-connected for PTSD (or other mental health conditions) are eligible for secondary service connection for their sleep apnea, and its possible to achieve an OSA disability claim secondary to PTSD with the right strategy and credible medical evidence. Lesson learned:Lay Evidence is the Bullet, and Medical Evidence is the rifle. All of these can contribute to sleep apnea. Learn what youve been missing so you can FINALLY get the disability rating and compensation youve earned for your service. For all about getting a VA rating for sleep apnea, see our post Your Sleep Apnea VA Rating A Guide to Getting a VA Disability Rating for Sleep Apnea. Get service-connected, get compensated and get the care you need! If youve filed your VA disability claim and have been denied or have received a low ratingor youre unsure how to get startedreach out to us! A polysomnogram is a sleep study in which medical devices are used to monitor a persons breathing, heart rate, and the electrical activity of their brain waves while they sleep. 1.3 million veterans enrolled in VA Healthcare have a sleep apnea diagnosis, With over 50 conditions that can be medically linked to sleep apnea. Im not going to talk about it much here because Im not seeing it in VA claims and appeals just yet. New Rule allows Presumptive Service Connection for Veterans particulate matter (burn pit) claims. Central sleep apnea occurs when the brain either does not send signals to the muscles that control breathing or those signals are interrupted. VA regional office denied the claims and she appealed. Although the VA diagnosed me with sleep apnea, they stated that they did not have enough evidence to tie my diagnosis with events I experienced during my deployment. A person must have a polysomnogram, either in a sleep lab or at home, in order to be diagnosed with sleep apnea. However, in February 2022, VA proposed changes that would reclassify sleep apnea ratings to 0 percent, 10 percent, 30 percent, or 50 percent, with 100 percent for sleep apnea seeming even harder to qualify for. First of all, lets explore a little about this common disability in veterans, so you understand the condition and why its important you pursue your claim and get the benefits you deserve. Additionally, there are some cases that the VA cannot schedule re-examinations: If you are interested in learning more about C&P examinations, check out our guide! sleep apnea secondary connection with PTSD, Denied for Benefits? Since 2009, veterans' claims for sleep apnea have increased 150%, more than 94% of these coming from veterans of Gulf War I or the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Many veterans receive wrongful denials when they apply for service connection for sleep apnea. A provided a NEXUS statement that stated the apnea was more than 52% likely to be the cause. In this post we'll explore how to get a service connected VA disability rating for Sleep Apnea secondary to Anxiety, even if you've already filed, been denied, or gave up. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs ("Secretary") filed a brief in this case on December 19, 2019 ("Sec. claim of entitlement to service connection for sleep apnea. When youre granted a sleep apnea VA rating, you may also be assigned a re-evaluation period (unless the condition is classified as static). Phone. Learn how your comment data is processed. How does this help you in YOUR VA Sleep Apnea Claims? If you need a lawyer, fill out a contact form at the law firm of Attig Steel: https://www.attigsteel.com/contact-us/. * Any damage to your nose, face, mouth, throat, neck, chest, or diaphragm can cause the airway to be obstructed, or the airflow to be limited. When he got to the BVA, the following evidence was in his C-File: Statements from the Veterans wife describing the sleep apnea symptomatologysince the Veteran returned from Iraq until his 2007 diagnosis. The VA refers to mixed sleep apnea as a combination of the obstructive and central forms of the condition. How does the diagnosis DRIVE your VA sleep apnea claim? #2: It crosses the uvula that dangling thing in the back of your throat. Because the medical research is slim to Why do so many veterans have sleep apnea? In order to prove a secondary service connection, youll need three things: PTSD doesnt have to be the main cause of your sleep apnea, but it does have to be connected. This Veteran served in Iraq and Kuwait in 2003 to 2004. Denied Disability Claim for Sleep Apnea December 28, 2015 Jim, I retired in 2011 with 22 active duty yrs of service. In fact, even if the Veteran inVA sleep apnea claim #2 had not had a private medical opinion, that lay evidence would have completely undercut the VA C&P examin that claimbecause that VA C&P opinion did NOT consider the lay statements of the ongoing and chronic symptoms of sleep apnea from discharge to diagnosis. Accomplish you want to succeed in your Sleep Apnea VE Impairment Claim? Build Your Sleep Apnea Claim RightField Manual Package. In addition, during the C&P exam for a sleep apnea VA rating, its important to make the case for how your sleep apnea impacts your ability to work, your daily life, and your social life. Diagnosing Sleep Apnea Sleep apnea can be aggravated by PTSD (secondary to PTSD), also an extremely common disorder for veterans. If you meet the requirement of having a current diagnosis, you can obtain a service connection and VA rating for sleep apnea and receive disability benefits. What kind of CPAP machine does the VA use? Veteran Service-Connected Sleep Apnea Claims on the Rise An increasing number of sleep apnea claims are cropping up among younger veterans. What is the current VA rating for sleep apnea? Get a Free Case Evaluation, The Link between Sleep Apnea and Hypertension, VA Disability Ratings for Insomnia and Sleep Disturbances, Sleep Apnea Secondary Connection to PTSD VA Disability, Other Medical Conditions Sleep Apnea is Connected With, VA Proposes Changes to Sleep Apnea Ratings, Common Sleep Apnea and Sleep Problems Symptoms in Veterans, VA CPAP Machines for Sleep Apnea Treatment, Establishing Service Connection For Sleep Apnea, C&P Exam for Sleep Apnea and Sleep Studies. 203, San Jose, CA 95134 Recently, it has been widely accepted by the, According to theNational Sleep Foundation, insomnia is a chronic sleep disorder, characterized by complaints of unsatisfactory sleep, despite having ample opportunity to sleep. The denial of disability claims for unconfirmed, undiagnosed sleep apnea is a regular occurrence for the VA. As a veteran, youre four times more likely than other Americans to develop sleep apnea. A VA C&P exam concluding that sleep apnea was "less likely than not" related to military service. * She sought treatment, and after a couple of sleep studies, was diagnosed with OSA Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Aug 11, 2021 #1 I was recently denied my claim for sleep apnea. If you have sleep apnea and sinusitis/rhinitis, your next step would be to get a doctors medical opinion supporting that your service-connected sinusitis/rhinitis caused or aggravates your sleep apnea. I already have 70% for PTSD. You're not alone. Some veterans with sleep apnea may experience improvement with lifestyle changes, but CPAP therapy is still among the most common treatments. Believe it or not, buddy statements can be helpful in proving sleep apnea claims if you can find vets who you served with and heard you snoring, or can talk about the issues that led to the sleep apnea. In an April 2014 report, a VA examiner opined that Ms. Walsh's sleep apnea was "likely due to her A statement from the doctor, and some additional medical evidence regarding those facts, was enough to win the case for sleep apnea, and it is now (at least for this veteran) a service connected condition. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Finally, a 100% rating is available when sleep apnea is so severe that it involves organ damage. A disability rating at any given percentage (e.g., 30%, 50%, 100%) pays based on that percentage, no matter what condition(s) gives you that rating. Asymptomatic sleep apnea would not be compensated under the tentative regulation. Copyright 2023 Hill & Ponton, P.A.. All Rights Reserved. We can helpreach out so we can show you how. The DBQ allows an examiner at a C&P exam to check boxes next to descriptions that best express how your sleep apnea is affecting you. For this reason, a secondary service connection for sleep apnea is much more common. If youve filed your VA disability claim and have been denied or have received a low rating, or youre not sure how to get started, reach out to us for a FREE VA Claim Discovery Callso you can FINALLY get the disability rating and compensation you deserve. PTSDand the side effects of medications taken to address PTSDcan lead to the development of sleep apnea in a few different ways. Take advantage of a FREE VA Claim Discovery Call. Click the button below to get more information. You're not alone. The violence of the rape caused a lot of damage to her jaw, back and neck muscles, including breaking her jaw. Heres the deal 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. Heres the brutal truth about VA disability claims: We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Id like to tell you about their VA sleep apnea claims and show you why they had such different results. Heres the brutal truth about VA disability claims: We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. There are cases in which your VA rating for sleep apnea would not be re-evaluated. Mr. Davis filed his initial brief on September 9, 2019 ("App. 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. Her husband told her she would snore loudly and wake up in the night often stopping breathing. Travis Studdard is an attorney who focuses on representing veterans in VA disability compensation claims. Brooklyn, NY: 300 Cadman Plaza West, One Pierrepont Plaza, 12th Floor, Brooklyn, NY, 11201 may be at higher risk for sleep apnea than the general population. Sleep apnea is a serious sleep disorder in which breathing is briefly and repeatedly interrupted during sleep. of veterans with PTSD also have a co-occuring sleep disturbance, including obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). 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. VA Claims insider is an education-based coaching/consulting company. To show your disability began during service, you will need to: Have a current diagnosis of sleep apnea with a sleep study; Provide VA with competent and credible lay evidence of symptoms of sleep apnea that occurred during your time in service (and which continued thereafter . Service connection on a secondary basis requires evidence of aggravation or causation.This requires that the secondary disability be shown to be proximately due to or proximately aggravated by another service-connected disability. In this blog post, we will discuss how. At VA Claims Insider, we can help you win your claim and get the highest VA rating for sleep apnea. As of December 1st, 2022 the VA disability rate benefit amounts are as follows: 0 percent disability rating: $0.00 per month. Excessive daytime sleepiness is the most noticeable signal for those who live alone. Even veterans who had a sleep study in the military are denied service connection for sleep apnea by the VA. Like you, they are left scratching their head wondering why. Exposure to materials such as dust and fumes, and the resulting rhinitis or sinusitis, is also a common issue for veterans thats associated with sleep apnea. * Sleep Apnea is NOT a disease of the obese: just about any neurological condition, or any interference (physical or neurological) with the body's airway can - and will - cause some form of sleep apnea over time * 3 out of every 4 Veterans who file a claim for Sleep Apnea are denied by the VA Regional Office or the Board of Veterans Appeals. NOW ITS YOUR TURN. The Veteran inVA sleep apnea claim #2 did it right by using lay, and medical evidence, together. The Veteran inVA sleep apnea claim #2 included the statement of the veterans wife describing the symptoms of sleep apnea from service discharge to diagnosis. If you want to learn how to implement these strategies to get the VA benefits you deserve, click here to speak with a VA claim expert for free. Many veterans dont even know what sleep apnea is while on active duty, let alone that they need a sleep study to prove they have it! He regularly writes about issues that are important to veterans and their families. Youll need to make the call on direct service connection versus secondary service connection. At VA Claims Insider, we help veterans understand and take control of the claims process so they can get the rating and compensation theyre owed by law. The causes of these disturbances may vary depending on which form of the condition you have: obstructive, central, or a mixed form of both. VA may deny a sleep apnea claim based on different aspects, whether theres not enough medical evidence of sleep apnea or perhaps no logical connection between your military service and your current sleep apnea. If youre claiming sleep apnea as a secondary condition, make sure you already have a medical diagnosis before you make your claim. As an aside, there is a fourth type of sleep apnea that has popped up lately in the medical world: idiopathic sleep apnea. Many veterans are diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, and thereforewith an effective claim that includes the right evidenceshould be eligible for a sleep apnea VA rating. Complex Sleep Apnea: In September 2006, researchers at the Mayo Clinic identified a new type of Sleep Apnea whichthey are calling complex sleep apnea. This places a disabled veteran in the VA's Group 1 for treatment. 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. If your VA disability claim has been denied, contact our office today for a free consultation at (401) 753-6359. See our article Burn Pit Presumptive Conditions. The medical examination may seem like extra hard work but could qualify that veteran for additional monthly compensation. It is, at its core, an interruption of the communication network between the brain and the breathing muscles. You can submit a rebuttal Statement In Support of Claim but this will probable result in continued denial. It was what the lay evidence DID that made all the difference in these two VA sleep apnea claims. 0%: Indicates that the claimant is largely asymptomatic but does show documented sleep apnea. Brian Reese here, Air Force service-disabled Veteran and Founder @ VA Claims Insider. Including a nexus letter for sleep apnea can be an important part of your claim to strengthen your case for a sleep apnea VA rating. Though the path from your nose to your lungs is a short one, there are a lot of parts of your body that air has to pass through. Hear from fellow Veterans just like you, with many of our Business Development Representatives having gone through our programs. Keeping a list of your symptoms and treatments can be beneficial evidence to submit. Sleep apnea and secondary service connection. He was diagnosed with sleep apnea in 2007, after his military service.