Posted on 05/27/2012 2:36:53 PM PDT by TurboZamboni
America's newest veterans are filing for disability benefits at a historic rate, claiming to be the most medically and mentally troubled generation of former troops the nation has ever seen.
A staggering 45 percent of the 1.6 million veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now seeking compensation for injuries they say are service-related. That is more than double the estimate of 21 percent who filed such claims after the Gulf War in the early 1990s, top government officials said.
What's more, these new veterans are claiming eight to nine ailments on average, and the most recent ones over the last year are claiming 11 to 14. By comparison, Vietnam veterans are currently receiving compensation for fewer than four, on average, and those from World War II and Korea, just two.
(Excerpt) Read more at twincities.com ...
And one must pick and choose their VSO carefully. It is not a one size fits all thingy. Word of mouth. Phone calls/emails, etc. Local veterans boards online. It is worth the trouble, upfront.
I fear you are right. When women and homosexuals get together, the peacetime military will be unbearable for anyone of spirit.
At the last family reunion, down at the range, both an uncle, and my brother asked why I bother with hearing protection.
I explained that it was good practice, a good example for the young people, and I had a QSO later that night using CW. I could use a computer for CW, but I prefer to hear it for myself.
I'm not interested in making anyone else pay for that personal preference.
My alleged disability, even in the service of my country, doesn't obligate other people.
/johnny
Many vets may have had minimal problem with their service connected tinnitus until later in life. Many medications (Beta-blockers in particular) raise hell with tinnitus. What may have been mere "water running" now sounds like Niagara Falls.
Good luck!
Hubby had his left ear halfway blown off in Vietnam and is about 50% deaf in that ear. I don’t know if he is ignoring us or really can’t hear us but he leaves us alone and stays in his own world. Lol
Oh yeah, and he has never filed for any disability.
Give him a hug, thank him for his service and tell him it's from an old AF TSgt.
Any ass-grabbing is on your own dime.
/johnny
I have a set of electronic ear muffs but I don’t like them for the reasons you give. I have seen the in-ear attenuators and enhancers. I am eager to try a set.
Two old timers are sitting on a bench outside the VA.
The first says, “What’s new?”
“Oh, I got this fantastic new hearing aid at the VA! It’s the latest technology, the doc said no expense was spared since nothing is too good for our veterans!”
“Gosh, that’s wonderful!” the first one says. “What kind is it?”
The second glances at his watch and says “It’s 1500!”
I am married with three kids. Selective hearing is mandatory!
A damaged sensory system can only process so much at any given time. Any more and Cognitive difficulties may occur. Think of it as a computer with too many processes running. This is not junk science it is fact. Vestibular Damage can be occupational, born with it, or caused by an accident. It is actually a form of Shell Shock. An over reaction by the brain to certain sounds due too improper interpitation by the Vestibular system and the brain. This can also cause Optic issues as well and Vertigo issues too.
To anyone saying well that's what they get for not wearing ear protection I have too say this. There is no ear protection short of wearing a sound proof suit which can filter all frequencies to a safe level. The ear plugs nor even aviation mouse ears can filter it all either and I'll explain why.
The human skull is part of your auditory system. It is as much a part of your hearing as your ear drums. Low Frequency sounds for example Sub-Woofers can penetrate the skull. Any skeptics can try this and see for themselves. The next time a kid drives pulls up with the stereo blaring try stopping up your ears. You may not hear the high frequencies but you will the low frequency produced. Artillery fire is low frequency.
Vestibular Damage added to their battlefield experiences can cause a situation where it triggers Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The two issues together compound each other and is more difficult to diagnose and treat. It is very real and it is very serious. It is also very important that it is diagnosed correctly so the wrong medications like antidepressants are not prescribed which can in some cases where this occurs be as bad as LSD.
These guys are doing unprecedented tours of duty. Four years in country? That should not be happening. It is happening because Congress refuses to up the End Troop Strength Levels. The military downsized too below peacetime readiness levels in active duty manpower and is fighting at least two wars or was. For that both DEM and GOP Congress as well as Poppy, Clinton, George W, and Obama, all are too blame.
If the injury can be proved then they have legitimate claim. If they have PTSD they deserve help. If they lost hearing then yes they deservered and earned hearing aids at a very minimum. There is something about active duty caused disabilities or injuries that some are forgetting about. The longer you wait the more difficult it becomes to get a claim approved or prove your claim. Claims depend on things like service records, Commanding Officer's verification, witnesses, etc as proof of service related injury.
/johnny
Pretty sure my partial hearing loss has something to due with active duty. (I don’t claim any disabilty either.)
I know a young Marine who just got out. He’s concocting all kinds of disabilty claim ideas. Pretty pathetic really, but he was before he went in,too.Always looking for the payday that involves no effort. It’s a wonder he never was dishonrably discharged. (he came close)
He doesn’t seem to understand or care that everyone who games the system takes limited VA resources from those who truly need it.
tinnitus is real.
Had a gunship dump a 2.75 rocket short in ‘68 and it landed 5 feet from me. Lost 25% of thigh muscle in 1 leg, 25% of the right chest wall muscles and hearing. 5-6 pounds of c4 going off that close really does the hearing no good, and yes it maxes at 10% unless totally deaf. I didn’t file for disability till 1997 when I couldn’t hardly walk anymore and they had to take a piece of shell fragment out the docs missed in ‘68, the leg grew a huge tumor around the metal till it all but paralyzed the leg (have a big chunk in 1 lung they left in so at least they made sure the body wasn’t rejecting it like the leg did) . So after 3 years of the claim rattling around I got 90% and 10% for unemployable.
.
Watch the VA with the prostate cancer disability, they gave me 20% for a prostate tumor the biopsied as a benign tumor, but 2 years later took it back because the tumor was not malignant. Just having a tumor doesn’t get anything, just an active malignant tumor killing ya. Also the agent orange claim for chloracne was denied, they said I had a blackhead problem around the eyes, and here I am a 62 yrs old with blackheads under my eyes like a teenager.
.
it is a long frustrating fight even if you’re blown half to hell in combat, I don’t know how all these guys get the 100% for just PTSD, I have met many at the VA hospital, but know guys like me with bullet holes, schrapnel all over and they seem to have to fight harder to get benefits for physical combat wounds than if they had only mental conditions. Oh also having a rocket blow up next to you does NOT give you TBI like the roadside bombs do, go figure.
Any Honorably Discharged Vet can go to their V.A. Auditory Clinic. Payment depends on income unless it is proved service related. If you have your medical records like where the Medical Officer placed you on Hearing Conservation that will suffice as service related. My Division Officer did me that favor puting a copy in my records I took home.
You'll have to see the V.A. Doctor for a referal and getting to the Hearing Clinic in some places takes a year or more. But they are tops once you get there. Good quality hearing aids and they'll ship you battteries every six months. I'd start the application process now to get into the clinic. If you want to file a disability claim that can be done later or not at all it doesn't matter.
I'm at close to 60% loss. Some of it caused by disorders I was born with. Some loss caused on the ship and some later in the Army NG at two week training when a full battery fire mission went off {155's} about 75 ft away. I was in the back of the truck asleep and didn't hear the warning. Ammo section tried to sleep while fire missons took place. While gun crews slept we worked.
LOL You try to fake it they'll catch it. Maybe not the first exam but they will catch it. They can be talking to you and even be checking your involuntary reactions in the exam.
I watched my then 7 year old grandson not even flinch in a test. I was inside the booth with him. I could hear the tones he couldn't. This was the part of the test where they check the skull. He couldn't hear it. Yea my daughter swore he could hear fine. We have different loss ranges is why I could hear but we have equal total percentage in loss.
Hearing is measured & tested over the entire hearing frequency spectrum. The losses from exam to exam will be consistant or worse. Hearing doesn't improve IOW unless it was a temporary issue like an ear infection etc causing the temporary loss. They check for that as well. Very hard to fake more than once or twice. When you loose your hearing the way you talk changes as well as they way you hear.
Do you have problems like become agitated in noisy environments where there is a lot of back ground noises. That can mean Christmas with family all gathered or going shopping at Wally World. In that situation does your ability to concentrate and focus on your task become significantly more difficult? Do you find it hard to do more than one simple task at once and become confused when another task or distraction is added in?
Have you been out somewhere either driving or in a store etc and begin to have difficulty realizing where you are, why you went there, how long you have been there, etc? I mean this happening in places you frequent as sense of detachment happens. Do you have a bad startle reflex? When trying to go too sleep and almost asleep do noises seem much louder. If you get up do you then have difficulty locating the noise and it is not near as loud?
All of the above can be caused by hearing loss and Vestibular System Damage. Not knowing it and understanding it for what it is can cause you serious grief and lots and lots of money in unnecessary testing because the doctor is not looking at Inner Ear related issues.
In 1994 while at work I started having serious issues. I was a maintenance mechanic. I worked in HVAC machinery, Electrical as in Three phase equipment with a 2000 amp switchboard, and a Boiler Operator. My concentration went first. I started missing details I normally did not miss. Thank GOD none of it serious and liked someone. This went on six months. No doctor had answers. My energy level suffered severely as well.
My last night at work I answered a trouble call in a residents apartment that would later be a key factor in how I found out what was wrong.
I went to the womans apartment this was a 50 acre complex with nursing home retirement home and assisted living. I asked her what was wrong as she was highly upset. She said Oh please make it stop. I asked her make what stop. She answered that noise make it quit. I said take me to it. She took me to her A/C unit which was on low and running normally. I turned it off and she was very happy. I told the nurse and she said I don't get it she came home from the hospital like that.
I returned to my shop for my meal. I was leaned back in my chair against a double door when someone on the other side yelled at someone down the hall. I felt like the cat in the cartoon where the dog sneaks up and barks and its claws are in the ceiling. From there things went down hill very fast. I had already experienced the where the hell am I thing once before a couple months earlier. This was affecting everything even my ability to answer questions. I called in my relief and called my dad for a ride home as I was in no condition to drive.
This lasted nearly two days. My MRI, CAT SCAN, EEG for brain wave issues all were normal. I also had developed a very serious problem of my upper torso from my shoulders up spasming violently from sounds or certain visual events. That I learned later triggered the where the hell am I experiences. They are seizures.
I was diagnosed with general Anxiety Disorder, Post Traumatic Disorder, and Obsessive Compulsive. Yes I truly did have two of the three. I did not have OCB as my rechecking my self as a compensation. I had PTSD from death of my first wife, quadriplegia happening to a woman I mat later on a date {my wife now} her near death, my daughters serious car wreck I went to the scene and thought she was D.O.A. because they had her body covered, and a wreck I was in where I though a baby died when a woman hit the back of my old Chevy Blazer.
This and the PTSD hit at the same time and it took 5 years too finally get through the PTSD. The cause of my seizures is due to Vestibular issues and a damaged sensory processing system some of which I was born with. I do not wish to see anyone else have to go years without proper treatment. It's just something to watch for is what I'm saying. It's very real. The woman who begged me to stop the noise showed me as much as later did a book called Phobia Free which explained it all medically. :>} Poor woman likely had an Inner Ear Infection and it wasn't detected.
Most do a great job of hiding it though - you wouldn't know it to look at them.
hope you’re doing well.
thanks for your service.
Thank you for the information. If I start now I may have hearing aids by the time I need them.
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