Did you wait till you were out to get your disability rating? If so, how long before you made your first claim?

It took me and Senator Rubio (FL Sr. Republican) 42 plus years to get me rated as recurring depression at 70% and another 18 months for TDIU (?).
Remember, back in 1979, we weren't "At-War, so no Combat Fatigue and PTSD wasn't Codified by the APA until 1980.
There are likely there are other under-diagnosed Veterans out there in the Post-Nam to 1980 period...
Let's help the VA help them!

I am the spouse of a veteran and he should have had one hundred percent when he came of a mental ward at the base in newriver with the diagnosis of " personality disorder " with passive aggressive manic attacks and possible homicidal and unfit for service. they kept him in another year and ACTUALLY WANTED HIM TO RETURN TO BEING A CREW CHIEF ~ they stripped him of his three bars and he loved walking around the base as a private with all his medals on his chest he loves being saluted to have them see up close he was only a pvt. after his discharge he had severe night terrors and destroyed his life as well as our family. he first applied in 1990 and went through an appeal where they wanted proof he even saw combat and that broke him and he never went through another appeal. then in 2005 his mind snapped and he was admitted to the v.a. hospital and kept for awhile and decided the personality disorder was severe ptsd and the hosp applied for him and they came him 70% from a mental ward ~ after his release we applied for higher rating and after getting congressman broyhill involved they approved his total and perm and gave him 100 % . his mind snapped four years ago next month and he ran off and considers me his enemy now and i have been battling with the v.a. for almost four years trying to get support from his benefits with soooo many mistakes by their office once they refused me based on his divorce from his first wife once they sent the wrong form denied again , once denied based on appeal not filed within time frame when they never sent me a letter telling me i had been denied in the first place. it's been a nightmare almost lost my home , lost my transportation ~ a new car with only nine payments left off a fifty thousand dollar vehicle ~ i suffer with not having enough money to make ends meet and meanwhile since they removed me as fiduciary he is blowing all his benefits on drugs and weapons and giving money to people to not talk to me that's how far out there he is and i can't get the v.a. to do anything he needs to be on a ward he is considered dangerous and has been convicted of threatening my life and has even attacked hospital workers and law enforcement but they keep saying i am on the docket and to wait my turn all the stupid denials i could have already been able to buy this week's groceries i was actually told they have a back log of several million cases i can certainly see why. took them no time at all to investigate me because he filed a complaint i misused his funds ~ came back 0.00 % misused over seventeen years but they still removed me as fiduciary

I was unaware that I was eligible for any disability compensation. My cousin who was an E-7 told me to sign up for it. I filed a claim for hearing loss in 2012. I was told that I did have hearing loss but not bad enough for compensation. I did receive a 10% rating for tinnitus. A few years later i did receive hearing aids for my hearing loss. I did have several hearing tests in Ocalla and at Orlando VA centers. Finally went to a hearing test where they gave me a form or questionaire asking me what caused my hearing loss. I put down that driving an M-48 A3 tank during combat in vietnam. stated that i had hit numerous landmines hand had the main gun fired as i was driving. Finally got 10% for hearing loss. I wasn't the only one that didn't know that they were eligible for these benefits!

50 years after I got out I came down with bladder cancer - presumably from Agent Orange. I applied to the VA and got a 100% temporary disability rating. Evidently it is curable, and will be re-evaluated at some point in the future. I didn't file for hypertension of diabetes - it is difficult for me to tell if that was service connected or not, but I have had both for the past 30 years or so.

I was told to start it when I was getting out, but didn't do anything for over 10 years. Signing up for care was easy, and a trip to the VSO got me going on my Disability claim. Over the last 20 years, I filed two more claims and an appeal. I found all of them to be fairly easy, but you must be commited to the process.

When I retired I waited about 30 days and was rated at 30%. Over the years the rating was increased to 45%. In 2007 I was told I had CLL and was rated at 100% combat related, which made my military retirement non-taxable. If I hadn't filed early I may have had to prove the cause of all on my disabilities.
My advice, as soon as you establish a home, file at your local VA. Once you are in the system everything is a lot easier. Trying to get into the system after you need medical care will delay the process.

I waited 34 years due to my thinking someone else deserved it more. My biggest issues are nexus issues, but getting closer every day to getting my benefits approved. Sadly, I am having major issues obtaining medical and deployment records from the Army, but at least I have my tinnitus/hearing coverde, although a the bare minimum of 10%.

I waited over 20 years through ignorance. Got with a representative of the VFW who steered me through the VA process and didn't have any problem with getting rated & compensation

When I left the service in 1983, as an E6 I should have had the sense to make them give me a complete physical. At that time I had been diagnosed with Spondylosis of the lower spine, and hearing loss. Probably would have been given a classification and been in VA with at least 50%. I waited until 1992 when I had to have spinal fusion. Have been turned down 3 times and am now 78 years old and my spine is really in bad shape.

File as soon as possible! Never wait. Don’t file your claim on your own! Get help from a veterans service organization (VSO)!