From: Nancy Smoyer
Date: June 26, 2014
Subject: Question about VA Claim
Steve,
Bob can answer this better, but I'd say, don't give up, get a VSO from another vet org and persist.
Nancy
From: Steve Sevits
Date: June 25, 2014
Subject: Question about VA Claim
In the late 90s I filed a VA claim for peripheral neurophathy (extreme loss of sensation in the hands and feet) and that claim never went anywhere.
A couple of months ago I spoke with the VFW service officer at the VA who seemed to have a lot more on the ball and he filed a much more in depth and detailed claim, with volumes of medical reports.
Now I’m in receipt of a new refusal from the VA which says the claim was already denied and the case is closed. I was under the impression that sometime after the first claim was filed there was a change that Vietnam Service between specific qualifying dates led to a “presumptive” situation for diabetes (for which I’m being treated) and loss of sensation in the feet and hands.
Can a flat denial stand in light of what I believe is a more recent ruling, or am I just plain out of luck?
Can anyone shed any light on this? I’ve attempted to get in touch with the VFW service officer at the VA but have been unable to make contact.
Any comments, thoughts or suggestions would welcome.
Steve
From: Ken Kalish
Date: June 9, 2014
Subject: VA Benefit
If you reported it, or dropped down to see the Corpsman, or mentioned it to your division officer, there will be a record of it buried somewhere. Of course, if you had stepped in front of the gun as it fired all you would have to do is show them the hole.
Ken
From: Frank Rogers
Date: June 8, 2014
Subject: VA Benefits Again
Ken,
Your comment ...
"Many times at AFVN, people would come into my studio and tell me my volumes were intolerably high during my shows. My volumes weren’t too high, they were just sufficient for me to hear them and become engaged in my show."
... reminds me of a black DJ called "Daddy Juice" at my first radio station. People in the neighborhood would complain about the "noise" during his show. He would go around the station, turning up all the speakers, because "I got to feel my music."
I've had a ringing in my ears for many years. I stepped out of a hatch on a destroyer just as a 5-inch gun went off. Bet the VA would want medical proof of the event.
Frank
From: Ken Kalish
Date: June 7, 2014
Subject: VA Benefits Again
Ah. Where or how does one put one’s ear to incur damage from a .50 … One does not put one’s ear on a .50, unless one wants a cooked ear. I earned a cooked right arm the day I lost my footing and fell against a cherry-hot barrel.
Many times at AFVN, people would come into my studio and tell me my volumes were intolerably high during my shows. My volumes weren’t too high, they were just sufficient for me to hear them and become engaged in my show.
Combat is an intense cacophony one cannot understand unless one has endured the experience. Gunfire, explosions, vocalizations, the rendering of material, the soft “poonk” of mortar tubes and the flat BANG of their arrival. The nasty bark of a rocket launched, the intense chatter of an AK-47, the thud-thud-thud of a Chinese .51, the idiotic thong-thong of a Mattel M-16, the solid bark of an M-14, the ugly sounds your own body makes under fire, the fearful utterances your subconscious brain requires you to scream in a fight for your life -- all these are the noise of battle. Any one of them can destroy your hearing -- or your “courage.”
21-year-olds believe themselves to be immortal, and the sound of dismay they make upon discovering that belief to be false is something one can never forget. They are amazed to learn that they experience pain when a bullet strikes, and a mortal wound often leaves them both angry and betrayed.
Despite what some clergy profess, God does not care whose side you are on when the shooting commences. God has no dog in that fight, no matter what professions the Chaplain makes. Were it not so, the Germans would have won WWII because their belt buckles were emblazoned with “Got Mit Uns:” God is with us.
The hardest lesson those new to combat must learn is a bifurcated truth: as horrifying as it is, noise cannot hurt you, and without noise there is no death. Sure, there are those who ask about the all-too-infrequent “silent” deaths, those from knife wounds or those caused by overwhelming fear interrupting one’s heart, but those curious people have never stood against a hail of bullets or the random savagery of shrapnel.
“One of you will die today. Just be glad, when it is over, to know you are not that one.”
It is rare that one dies clean in combat. Dirt and mud and extraneous filth are all part of being on the pointy end of the spear. The only service incredible noise provides is an assurance that you are still alive.
Sorry to be so dark, but milestones of combat do that to me. So few, so very few, Americans fell into the arms of Morpheus on June 6, 1944, and yet to every one of those 10, 000 who met with death it was the monumental event of their lives. Whether they drowned because of stupidity on the part of those apportioning equipment to the men who would fight ashore or because they fell victim to live fire from their own forces of the German defenders, they died a premature death. And yet, they were so very many to people back home -- people like our own RC. One of my uncles was there. I got him drunk enough to talk about it twice before he committed suicide. He was one of two among the 40 in his unit who survived the first three days of combat.
Noise? Noise is the only guarantee that you have not yet surrendered your life in combat, and the loss of one’s hearing is simply the price one pays for having done so.
Ken
From: Bob Nelson
Date: June 7, 2014
Subject: VA Benefits Again
Ken... Yup... I literally can hear earthquakes coming. People think I'm nuts until the shaking starts.
Bob
From: Bob Nelson
Date: June 7, 2014
Subject: VA Benefits Again
Right handed shooter.
Bob
From: Ken Kalish
Date: June 7, 2014
Subject: VA Benefits Again
Oh okay, I was just a little concerned that someone was firing off a .50 cal machine gun in a mine at canaries.
MikeJ
From: Ken Kalish
Date: June 7, 2014
Subject: VA Benefits Again
Thanks for the info. I recall a 270 i had years ago, I hated to shoot it, the sharp crack really bother[ed me].
From: Ken Kalish
Date: June 7, 2014
Subject: VA Benefits Again
From: Ken Kalish
D ate: June 7, 2014
Subject: VA Benefits Again
The levels cause the hearing loss - a fifty is nasty loud, but sometimes in combat is exposed to incredibly loud volume in sub or extra high frequency ranges, particularly in explosives. The losses are usually in specific ranges related to speech. I have lots of problems hearing women's voices, but my ultra-low range is much more well developed now than most people. It's an involuntary compensation my body made. That's why I cam hear elephant rumbles.
Ken
From: John Thomas
Date: June 7, 2014
Subject: VA Benefits Again
Fascinating, Ken. But where does one put one’s ear on a .50 Cal machine gun? And why would they be firing it at a rock concerts? Just asking.
From: John Thomas
Date: June 7, 2014
Subject: VA Benefits Again
Sorry cell phone keyboard. Or was repeated exposure the main culprit?
From: John Thomas
Date: June 7, 2014
Subject: VA Benefits Again
Ken, a question about the hearing tests. Was it the peak levels or the frequency that seemed to cause the problem?
From: John Thomas
Date: June 7, 2014
Subject: VA Benefits Again
Okay I understand, that makes sense. The shooting ears really didn't do much for me. Of course in the 60's the were crude
From: Ken Kalish
Date: June 7, 2014
Subject: VA Benefits Again
What does being right-handed have to do with hearing loss? Pick up a rifle, catch a sight picture and pull the trigger. Your unprotected left ear will be pointed toward the muzzle blast. Your right ear will be protected because of your head being between the muzzle and that ear. My hearing is abysmal in my left ear, and 60% in my right. A group to which I belong, Gamewardens of Viet Nam, (CTF 116, 117 and 118) paid for research into hearing loss. The results showed that a .50 cal machine gunner is exposed to decibels more than six times that level known to cause hearing loss in settings such as musical venues and mining.
Ken
From: John Thomas
Date: June 7, 2014
Subject: VA Benefits Again
I can 't resist,,, What does being right handed have to do with hearing loss...? Sorry. I agree that backup info can be handy. The good thing is 90% of my records are available on-line from the Baylor Medical Network. Most of the docs and providers are getting on the electronic bandwagon. That my by good or bad, I am just using it a bunch right now.
From: Mike McNally
Date: June 7, 2014
Subject: General Omar Bradley Once Ran VA
Some Veterans Administration history, from Wikipedia.
President Hoover created the Veterans Administration (VA) in 1930 to consolidate all veteran services. General Omar N. Bradley was appointed to VA administrator and Bradley appointed Major General Paul Hawley as director of VA medicine, both in 1945. Hawley successfully established a policy that affiliated new VA hospitals with medical schools. Hawley also promoted resident and teaching fellowships at VA hospitals. Ultimately, Hawley was responsible for starting the hospital-based research program at the VA. Bradley resigned in 1947. However, upon resignation, 97 hospitals were in operation and 29 new hospitals had been built. As a result, the VA health system was able to serve a much larger population of veterans than it had served in previous years. In 1988, President Reagan signed the Department of Veterans Affairs Act, which elevated the VA to Cabinet-level, then becoming known as the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Department of Veterans Affairs oversees the Veterans Health Administration.
From: Ken Kallish
Date: June 7, 2014
Subject: VA Benefits Again
Good morning, everyone.
When you are going to ask the VA for any disability it is your own best interest to get a second opinion from a civilian doctor with whom you have some history. If you have a hearing loss, that kind of relationship is going to guarantee a quick turnaround on your claim. My own civilian doctor wrote a letter saying that my hearing loss is typical for a right handed combat veteran. The turnaround on that claim was a matter of 30 days after my exam. Whether your claim is for an injured toe or for extensive cancer, the outside opinion goes a long, long way toward shortening the claims process, and it means the decision is more likely to be in your favor.
Ken
From: John Thomas
Date: June 7, 2014
Subject: VA Benefits Again
Yea and I spent two years in Japan with TRAC-24 s whining in the background. Of course the last 40 years working in test areas with air, handlers, testers, etc. making noise didn't help. Oh yes the the diesel generator that we had to run every month... Plus I am old?
From: Doug Jennings
Date: June 7, 2014
Subject: VA Benefits Again
I'll have to say my treatment at the VA has been pretty good over the years. From my experience, after getting an appointment with a Doctor, you have to ASK for the hearing test or eye exam if you're not in for a Compensation Exam. However, during my last exam, in February, my Dr. asked if I had ever had a Colonoscopy. When I said "no", she scheduled it. In addition to the annual flu shots, it seems like every time I go in they are giving me another shot for something. Last year, it was for shingles. My last blood test showed is was thisclose to being diabetic, so I've since seen their dietician.
The only thing I've had to prod them on was getting the electronic files transferred from one VA region to another.
Doug J.
From: Ron Turner
Date: June 6, 2014
Subject: VA Benefits Again
John, I have used VA over the years and have had some great service and some approaching criminal levels. I suspect that right now they are bending over backwards to be efficient and nice. One thing they have always done well is hearing aids. They will give you, basically, a $2500-$3000 hearing aid following a good exam and fitting. The same aid (w/exam, etc) would cost $4000 or more in a private facility! It adds up when you get two of them. If they doubt the service connected aspect, tell them about 8-12hr shifts next to noisy broadcast xmtrs - the noise level was much greater than being 50 feet from a power generator (also very noisy). Your tour with AFVN gave you more than enought xmtr noise to seriously damage your hearing.
From rural Azle, Texas
Ron Turner
From: Bob Nelson
Date: June 6, 2014
Subject: VA Benefits Again
Congrats John... Stay with it and I think your choice of a CBOX (clinic) was smart.
bob
From: John Thomas
Date: June 6, 2014
Subject: VA Benefits Again
Good suggestion, I will look into doing that.
John
From: Frank Burke
Date: June 6, 2014
Subject: VA Benefits Again
John,
Do you belong to a veterans groups (Amer Legion, VFW, DAV, etc.)? If so, have them handle your Power Of Attorney for veterans affairs. It'll save you a lot of time and trouble.
The DAV has my POA and they act in my behalf. The DAV seems to be the better of all.
Tomorrow, there's to be a picture-taking session of Erath County's Korean War vets. Even though I was stationed in Yokosuka I'm still a Korean vet. I'm curious to see who shows up for this.
Let me know how you make out with the VA.
S/F.
Frank
Veterans Administration - Claims and Experiences - Page 2
June & July 2014 and October 2014
Getting Treatment and Problems with the VA plus some Comments on Agent Orange
AFVN Group Conversations
From: Gary Brill
Date: July 4, 2014
Subject: Agent Orange Guide for Vietnam Veterans of America
I have an unusual situation with the VA regarding my prostate cancer. I had an operation, took the thing out....they rated me 100%. Then after a short time, they re-rated me down to 30%, which I'm trying to fight. After filing my protest, which is now almost 18-months old and still no word from the VA, my PSA began to go up. So, Dr. (not a VA doc) decided on radiation.... I'm at my 20th radiation treatment of 35. I'm wondering how the VA is going to react to my situation now. I did file with my local county VA rep......and I can tell anyone who is reading this......FILE THRU YOUR COUNTY VA REP....they know the procedure.....don't try to do it on your own.
BTW, having someone from the SD VA would be perfect for our event.
GarryB
From: Steve Sevits
Date: July 3, 2014
Subject: Agent Orange Guide for Vietnam Veterans of America
In 1999 I applied for compensation for peripheral neuropathy (numbness of the hands and feet), it was denied. This spring another application was made including several other issues.
The regional VA office reiterated the earlier denial.
The VFW service officer contacted the regional office and learned the earlier denial was based on the lack of proof of VN service. This has been resolved.
Under the direction of the VFW rep, it appears the process is now on track as he planned. It’s been explained that AO exposure is now “presumed” as result of being in country during a specified window of time. Exposure can lead to presumptive Type II diabetes, one of the side effects is loss of sensation (numbness) in the extremities. Sort of a domino effect.
Several helpful suggestions and contacts offered by others on this list have been helpful and a blanket “thank you” is enclosed to everyone who contacted me with aid.
The AO Guide is very helpful.
Steve
From: Doug
Date: July 3, 2014
Subject: Agent Orange
Thought this might be of interest.
Service-Connected Disability Compensation For Exposure
To Agent Orange for Veterans and their families
From: Jim White
Date: July 3, 2014
Subject: Agent Orange
Thanks to Doug for posting this. It got me off my dead butt and interested in submitting a claim for having been in Vietnam plus having prostate cancer (fortunately dormant for now). Don't know what will come of it but considering the speed of the VA they may have to email me care of "another world" when they finally make a decision.
Jim W
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Project Jenny KLIK - 1st Inf Di v Women in Vietnam RELATED-- To AFVN To Saigon To Vietnam Further Afield Index
From: Gary Brill
Date: July 4, 2014
Subject: Agent Orange VA Plan
I like the plan [to have a VA agent come talk to us during the reunion].
Frank
From: Ken Kalish
Date: July 4, 2014
Subject: Agent Orange Guide for Vietnam Veterans of America
Jim:
The VA will grant you a rating for your prostate cancer, probably around 30%. It is on the presumptive list. If/when you decide to have surgery, you will briefly be rated at 100%, then rated lower depending upon the effects of your surgery. You may also find yourself learning more about AO than you ever wanted to know.
All of us who were in-country and many who were aboard ships that frequented VN harbors literally ingested the stuff. Where do you think your drinking water came from? We also bathed in the stuff. “Here you go, lad! Just dip your soap in this (mostly) pure water and smear it all over yourself. Not a cough in a carload.”
I’ve been waiting for my next semi-annual visit to bring up the topic of neuropathy. My fingers and toes are beginning to be a bit odd.
The VA is not a benevolent organization. It is up to you to ask questions, explore, and demand answers. One other bit of advice -- never accept a denial of benefits without challenging that decision. All too often it turns out that the denial is based on a superficial reading of clinical notes and misinterpretation of VA rules.
I am asking a friend of mine, who retired from being the VFW’s DC appeals junk yard dog position, to join us in San Diego. Short of that, I may ask the SD VA office to send someone to join us in the hospitality room for a while. Anyone who has read this far, please let me know what you think of that plan.
Ken
From: Steve Sevits
Date: July 3, 2014
Subject: Agent Orange Guide for Vietnam Veterans of America
In 1999 I applied for compensation for peripheral neuropathy (numbness of the hands and feet), it was denied. This spring another application was made including several other issues.
The regional VA office reiterated the earlier denial.
The VFW service officer contacted the regional office and learned the earlier denial was based on the lack of proof of VN service. This has been resolved.
Under the direction of the VFW rep, it appears the process is now on track as he planned. It’s been explained that AO exposure is now “presumed” as result of being in country during a specified window of time. Exposure can lead to presumptive Type II diabetes, one of the side effects is loss of sensation (numbness) in the extremities. Sort of a domino effect.
Several helpful suggestions and contacts offered by others on this list have been helpful and a blanket “thank you” is enclosed to everyone who contacted me with aid.
The AO Guide is very helpful.
Steve