Learn what youve been missingso you can FINALLY get the disability rating and compensation you deserve! We share our top tips and a step-by-step guide to a successful claim for obstructive sleep apnea! OSA largely results from a disruption inthe normal breathing process. VA Sleep Apnea Claim - Deniedagain : r/Veterans - Reddit (The Insiders Guide). As an aside, there is a fourth type of sleep apnea that has popped up lately in the medical world: idiopathic sleep apnea. This blockage is caused when the back throat muscles relax, impairing the airflow. What is the current VA rating for sleep apnea? * The 5 Reasons that 76% of VA Sleep Apnea claims are denied - and how to fix the problem in YOUR case. The most trusted name in education-based resources for Veterans. may be at higher risk for sleep apnea than the general population. Do you feel tired or sleepy during the day? 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. How to File a Claim on VA.gov (step-by-step)! Columbus, OH: 100 E. Campus View Boulevard, Suite #250, Columbus, OH, 43235 How to Use one VA Lay Display to Win Your Disabled Claims Check out our post on sleep apnea secondary connection with PTSD here! Top 5 Questions about Sleep Apnea VA Claims - Disability Denials Build Your Sleep Apnea Claim RightField Manual Package. Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder in which breathing is repeatedly interrupted during the course of sleep. Can the VA take away my sleep apnea rating? Travis Studdard is an attorney who focuses on representing veterans in VA disability compensation claims. 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. Required fields are marked *. Even if you have a medical diagnosis during active-duty service, without a sleep study this is difficult to claim successfully. This study will serve as medical evidence for the veterans case and can help to prove the medical condition or medical conditions that go into a total rating. The VA has found sustained improvement in your ability to function under the ordinary conditions of life. By subscribing to the Veterans Law Blog you get a free copy of the eBook version along with many more training manuals and instructional videos. At VA Claims Insider, we help you understand and take control of the claims process, so you can get the rating and compensation youre owed by law. These include: As youre gathering medical evidence to file your VA claim for sleep apnea, remember that just having a CPAP alone doesnt meet the VAs requirements for service connection. Note: Millions of Philips CPAP Machines have been recalled due to toxic chemical seeping into mask and unknowingly being inhaled by sleep apnea patients. Also make sure to seek the care you need to get relief from the effect of sleep apnea on your health and life. Weve supported more than 15,000 veterans to win their claims. Do you take naps? Most veterans are underrated for their disabilities and therefore not getting the compensation theyre due. Some of the most common symptoms of sleep apnea include: People who suffer from sleep apnea are often unaware of the breathing disturbances, finding out about them from a bed partner or roommate. In our experience, if you did NOT have a sleep study while on active duty and you did not get a medical diagnosis of sleep apnea in the military, you should only attempt to service-connect your sleep apnea VA claim SECONDARY to another service-connected disability. Both disorders have risk factors that affect both sleep apnea and symptoms of PTSD, and the conditions can aggravate each other. No current medical diagnosis (within the last 12 months), or improper diagnosis #3. Signup to never miss a beat with special offers, blog updates, exclusive trainings, and more delivered right to your inbox! Dear Veteran, Heres the brutal truth about VA disability claims: According to our data, 8/10 (80%) of veterans reading this message right now are underrated by the VA. In our experience, a well-crafted nexus letter for sleep apnea is the single most crucial document you can provide to help prove service connection on an at least as likely as not basis. In this blog post, we will discuss how. By doing so, you necessarily figure out which in-service events are most important to tie to it for purposes of establishing the element of nexus in a service connection claim. However there are several rules that must be followed in order for this to occur: If the VA does propose a reduction of rating, then the veteran can submit an argument against it. Our process takes the guesswork out of filing a VA disability claim and supports you every step of the way in building a fully-developed claim (FDC)so you can increase your rating faster! The VA assigns the following ratings for veterans based on the severity of their sleep apnea: PTSD, Hypertension, Asthma, Cardiovascular Conditions, Type II Diabetes, Mental Health Conditions, Respiratory Conditions, Alzheimers disease. Sleep apnea is a common condition that affects about22 million people nationwide. Take advantage of a FREE VA Claim Discovery Call with an experienced Team Member. This includes having a sleep study done, a buddy letter from your spouse, and medical records from your doctor about your symptoms. Because the medical research is slim to Why do so many veterans have sleep apnea? A person must have a polysomnogram, either in a sleep lab or at home, in order to be diagnosed with sleep apnea. However, VA has not identified literature to support inclusion of sleep apnea as a presumption at this time. "Among veterans with PTSD, sleep disturbances are nearly universal. The symptoms have disappeared or are not severe enough to cause any issues. Since 2016, VA Claims Insider has helped thousands of Veterans just like you get the VA rating and compensation they deserve in less time. If you have symptoms of OSA, consider obtaining a sleep study, also known as polysomnography. He had traditional sleep apnea symptoms, and was diagnosed with sleep apnea in January 2007. PTSD - A study involving Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who visited a VA outpatient PTSD clinic found that 69% percent of them had a high risk for sleep apnea, and this risk increased with PTSD symptom severity. I applied for sleep apnea secondary PTSD about a year ago. If you prefer a paper copy, you can get it direct from the publisher by clicking here, or buy it on Amazon, by clicking on the link below: If its all too much and youre ready to hire an attorney that is accredited to handle VA Claims, and who focuses a lot of his firmslaw practice on VA SleepApnea claims, check out the Attig Steel law firm and request a consultation about your VA sleep apnea appeal. * The 5Reasons that 76% of VA Sleep Apnea claims are denied and how to fix the problem in YOUR case. 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. The causes of these disturbances may vary depending on which form of the condition you have: obstructive, central, or a mixed form of both. Broadly, its defined as the occurrence of five or more breathing-related events per hour, measured by polysomnography (sleep study). Sleep apnea often is thought of as a mild annoyance, but it is a significant condition that can lead to health issues ranging from hypertension, stroke and heart attack to depression, anxiety and headaches. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is one of the more common types of sleep apnea, which occurs when the upper airway repeatedly becomes blocked throughout the night. VA Disability for Sleep Apnea: A Guide to Legal Aid - Berry Law Typically the re-evaluation period is anywhere from two to five years after your initial examination. Sleep Disturbances in Veterans: the Hurricane Threatening the Veterans Your email address will not be published. If you want to learn more about how to make lay and medical evidence work together in your VA sleep apnea disability claim, check out the Veterans Law Blog Build Your Sleep Apnea Claim RightField Manual Package. I filed the claim as as secondary to GERD a pre-existing already disability. If I had a nickel for every time I heard someone say the following statement about a VA Sleep Apnea claim, I might be able to buy a damn nice race car: The VA denied sleep apnea in my claimthey said it was because I had no sleep study in service, the veteran says. In our experience, OSA denials are almost always due to one or more of these five gaps: #1. Youll need to make the call on direct service connection versus secondary service connection. An obstruction or a problem anywhere along that path of air, can cause Obstructive Sleep Apnea. He regularly writes about issues that are important to veterans and their families. 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. If youre stuck, frustrated, underrated, and currently rated between 0%-90%, VA Claims Insider Elite is for you! Philadelphia, PA: 1 International Plaza, Suite 550, Philadelphia, PA, 19113 Follow the steps below to remedy the above-listed typical reasons for denial, and youll be much closer to a winning claim! Symptoms of Sleep Apnea Loud snoring Gasping for air during sleep Awakening with a dry mouth Morning headache Hypersomnolence, or excessive daytime sleepiness Difficulty concentrating Oftentimes, the symptoms of the three types of sleep apnea can overlap, making diagnosis more difficult. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Is it difficult to stay awake performing tasks like driving, reading or watching TV? Check out our Philips CPAP Recall page here! A VA claim for sleep apnea can be denied for many reasons. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs ("Secretary") filed a brief in this case on December 19, 2019 ("Sec. Learn how your comment data is processed. The VA refers to mixed sleep apnea as a combination of the obstructive and central forms of the condition. Thanks to additions to the VA presumptive list, you may be able to presumptively service-connect rhinitis, sinusitis, rhinosinusitis or asthma if you served in particular theaters during specified time periods. Excessive daytime sleepiness is the most noticeable signal for those who live alone. Complex Sleep Apnea: In September 2006, researchers at the Mayo Clinic identified a new type of Sleep Apnea whichthey are calling complex sleep apnea. 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. Pittsburgh, PA: 201 Penn Center Boulevard, Suite 400, Pittsburgh, PA, 15235 Your sleep apnea rating will compensate you based on your conditions severity. Since you have already received a denial then you would have to submit a supplemental claim with new evidence and new ARGUMENTS. Cleveland, OH: 600 Superior Ave. East, Fifth Third Building, Suite 1300, Cleveland, OH, 44114 * 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. 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. Lets look a little deeper at OSA for a minute Obstructive Sleep Apnea is by far the most common type of Sleep Apnea that affects veterans. Many veterans receive wrongful denials when they apply for service connection for sleep apnea. This sleep-disordered breathing leads to poor sleep quality and is a risk factor for the poor quality of life. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. 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. She was a former US Airforce civilian employee, who worked at Hill Air Force Base, in Layton, UT as a flight testing administrator. Loved ones like family or close friends could also be a good help in sharing how your sleep has changed. It can also work in reverse: sleep apnea can lead to other disabilities. According to the VA, 1 in 5 veterans has obstructive sleep apnea. This book is a must-read: I wrote it after talking to several doctors, hundreds of veterans who were denied sleep apnea in their VA disability claim, and after reading hundreds if not thousands of BVA and Court Decisions about Sleep Apnea. 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. Hear from fellow Veterans just like you, with many of our Business Development Representatives having gone through our programs. Even if you have a medical diagnosis during active-duty service, without a sleep study this is difficult to claim successfully. It is, at its core, an interruption of the communication network between the brain and the breathing muscles. Accomplish you want to succeed in your Sleep Apnea VE Impairment Claim? Which primary disabilities make the best claims for secondary service connection of sleep apnea? His eBook, the9 Secrets Strategies for Winning Your VA Disability Claimhas been downloaded more than 300,000 times in the past three years and is the #1 rated free VA disability claims guide for veterans. To learn more about how this works, check out my book: Put it to Rest: Your VA Sleep Apnea Claim. Why? San Jose, CA: 2880 Zanker Road, Ste. Here are a few examples of how sleep apnea could be impacting your life, which youll want to clearly state and demonstrate in your C&P exam and in your claim: We recommend a nexus letter from a medical professional to connect your condition to your military service (or secondary to a service-connected disability) in order to improve your chances of receiving a rating for sleep apnea as a secondary condition. 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. VETERANS VOICE: Sleep apnea claims often denied - The Leaf-Chronicle I then applied for VA disability and received a 90% rating. I already have 70% for PTSD. Proposed rating must be based on entire medical history, Must show there has been improvement in veterans functionality, If you have a rating that has remained the same for over five years (stabilized), If you have a total disability rating, meaning 100 percent rating. * 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. This means that a veteran has an already service-connected disability that caused the veteran to have sleep apnea. Want More Help with Your Sleep Apnea VA Claim? The VA will call you from the following phone number: 1-800-827-1000. Claim Denied! Why Your SLEEP APNEA CLAIM Was Denied, and What You Can Do you currently smoke, or have you smoked in the past? A sleep study is critical to confirming whether you meet the clinical diagnostic criteria for sleep apnea. 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.