Infantryman
Infantryman
Posted on Dec 6, 2019
Increase the VA compensation for Veterans with Tinnitus from 10% to 30%. | We the People: Your...
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Increase the VA compensation for Veterans with Tinnitus from 10% to 30%. | We the People: Your...
Posted from petitions.whitehouse.gov
Artillery
11B: Infantryman
Infantryman
Cavalry
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 5
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Full disclosure: I am rated for this condition. Too many near-miss IEDs I guess. And there are days and especially nights where it is oppressive.
People need to understand what VA Compensation is. It is a payment to make up for impairment to normal employment a Veteran suffers due to injury/illness that occurred in service. It is not some kind of recompense for injuries like compensatory damages you might get from a lawsuit. So the question isn't about what is "fair" in damages, it is what is the real amount of impairment to normal functioning in the workplace.
I would submit to you that tinnitus has degrees of severity, and that one could make a case that a worse case warrants a higher rating than 10%. The problem is, it is difficult to assess severity, or even the existence of tinnitus by testing.
For my part, there are days where I barely notice it. It is sort of a white noise that makes it difficult to isolate and listen to say the kids in the next room when there is other things going on. Then there are nights where it is loud and in multiple tones, and it is near impossible to sleep or concentrate.
I don't know what the right answer is here, but it is definitely not a blanket increase to 30%.
People need to understand what VA Compensation is. It is a payment to make up for impairment to normal employment a Veteran suffers due to injury/illness that occurred in service. It is not some kind of recompense for injuries like compensatory damages you might get from a lawsuit. So the question isn't about what is "fair" in damages, it is what is the real amount of impairment to normal functioning in the workplace.
I would submit to you that tinnitus has degrees of severity, and that one could make a case that a worse case warrants a higher rating than 10%. The problem is, it is difficult to assess severity, or even the existence of tinnitus by testing.
For my part, there are days where I barely notice it. It is sort of a white noise that makes it difficult to isolate and listen to say the kids in the next room when there is other things going on. Then there are nights where it is loud and in multiple tones, and it is near impossible to sleep or concentrate.
I don't know what the right answer is here, but it is definitely not a blanket increase to 30%.
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1SG (Join to see)
LTC Stephen B. - I'm guessing here, but I would wager the $130 figure is because the petition is dated. It is adjusted annually by a couple of percent by Congress. Starting 0n 1 Dec 2019, the new rate for 10% is $142.29.
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LTC Stephen B.
1SG (Join to see) - Petition was filed a couple weeks ago, $130 would have been 4 or 5 years ago. Not that it's that big of a deal, just trying to make the point that it's near impossible to put an actual price on a single rating change. Going from 10% to 30% just might move me up on more rung, or it may be just shy of what I would need. If the 10% went to zero, it wouldn't change a thing as far as my personal final rating, so for me the 10% = $0.00, everyone's situation will be different.
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CPT William Hoh
What you're describing is impairment. Any injury to a body part that produces normal function is impairment.
Disability is different. A pinky injury might keep a concert pianist from working his usual occupation, but a schoolteacher could continue to work . Same impairment… Different disability rating.
The VA is kind of a combination of both. I did occupational and environmental medicine as a civilian for a while. Lots of independent medical examinations. I did not do any for the VA because I could not be objective, Having served in the military and being injured myself.
Disability is different. A pinky injury might keep a concert pianist from working his usual occupation, but a schoolteacher could continue to work . Same impairment… Different disability rating.
The VA is kind of a combination of both. I did occupational and environmental medicine as a civilian for a while. Lots of independent medical examinations. I did not do any for the VA because I could not be objective, Having served in the military and being injured myself.
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CPT William Hoh
COL John McClellan and if a physician becomes disabled (totally and permanently unable to work) as a result of military service like myself, we still only get the 100% of VA "permanent and total disability" that anyone else would get. And not a penny more. A General would get the same payment as a private for the same exact impairment.
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I signed. Also, think we should up the stipend pay for CMOH awardees, it's a pittance right now and there are not that many CMOH awardees living, a fractional drop in the bucket for the taxpayer that would be so small to go unnoticed by most. For everything they do after they get the award we need to compensate them better as a country.
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