Question for fellow Vets

I heard nothing but horror stories i am afarid. My lil brother has 60% hearing loss and has been denied 2 times now for benefits(been trying to get it filed since 2/06). He can barely hear outta his right ear at all (uparmored HMMWV hit by RPG in Iraq). I got a guy I worked with(back in NY) who had serious medical issues related to his service in Vietnam, to the VA, he fought for over two years but eventually was granted his disability and was able to retire. Seems it is the old army saying Hurry up and wait, which of course you are already familiar with.

 

I have 60% disability from when I retired back in 2006, and if I recall it took a while to kick in. Still, yours seems like an inordinate amount of time, have you tried calling your local VA office about it?

Cheers! M2

 

After reading Major's post above, you have the right to have a Veterans advocate, at any hearings. Ask for that when you call, thats what ultimately helped the Vietnam vet get his proper benefits I mentioned above. It is basically a arbitrator who works on your behalf. Hope this helps bud.

 

Just whatever you do.........don't give up. Keep calling.......go see a DAV Rep in person. I just received an increase in my disability rating that went back to 2007.........and yes they did pay retroactive. Hang in there!

 

It's bullshit that any of this should happen...ever!

 

Would contacting your state rep/senator be of any help?



During TAPs all we heard was "put in your papers asap because they take forever to process"...one horror story after another. Good luck getting what you need. It is ridiculous that this happens at all.

 

RetArmySgt:
Did you get a separation pay? If so you will have to wait x amount of months until it is equal to Disability rating. If your separation pay was $6000, and your rating paid $500/month, it would be a year before you received the first payment.

If you go to your local VA office they can look into it a little easier than over the phone.

DCAV:
On your lil brothers hearing loss, it will be a bit harder due to the fact he would have to prove it occurred due to explosive injury. The VA quit auto approving hearing loss years ago since they started issuing ear plugs to all soldiers.