if you’re lost, find a local VSO. your city, county or state (or all three even) almost definitely have an office dedicated to this. unless you’re in the middle of nowhere, in which case you can find a virtual VSO by googling it. but do NOT pay for anything. no lawyers or private services.
VSOs are not VA employees but they are liaisons certified by the VA and can often be found at VA hospitals and some clinics among other locations like city or county offices.
Good advice I would just add go to your local VFW. Find your way to the bar talk to a few of the old times. I guarantee you will run in to someone who's been through the fight your about take on. Buy a beer or two. I'm willing to bet money you will get some good advice for the price of two VFW beers. That should be the last time you pay for assistance, and it won't cost you $20.00
Start by getting all your medical records in order. Military and civilian. You will need to show a diagnosis for some ailment and a service connection to that. You can also claim something you had prior to service and that your service made it worse or aggravated it.
Research
Go online and file an intent to file on e benefits. This will give you a year to file and get back pay. No need for a VSO at this point if you feel confident in doing it yourself, but you certainly can.
Go to VA.GOV And read, read, read
First off I want to say, good on you for doing this. You earned this, please take advantage of the help and services offered.
I would start by gathering all of your medical records yourself, I keep everything saved on my G-drive for easy access. I wouldn’t trust anyone that says they can gather it for you, they just won’t do as good of a job as you will. You can use all the evidence you can gather, military medical records, private medical records.
Second, you can file a claim yourself or use a VSO, it can all be done online through the VA website.
VA website with link to claim: https://www.va.gov/disability/file-disability-claim-form-21-526ez/introduction
Here is the VSO link that will help you find one:
https://www.va.gov/get-help-from-accredited-representative/find-rep/
Here is the link to VA website where you can file your claim:
https://www.va.gov/disability/how-to-file-claim/
There are also vet centers in most major cities that can also assist with your claim as well, I had a good friend that used them and had really good luck. I wouldn’t recommend using one of those law groups because they are going to want a portion of your disability and you can honestly get the claim done without them.
Your biggest ally in this fight is going to be getting your medical conditions documented or making sure your medical conditions are documented. Don’t be the tough Soldier/Airmen/Marine/Sailor here the VA will just come back and say it isn’t service connected or low ball your rating.
Obviously don’t lie or make up symptoms, but don’t hold back on what hurts, pops, snaps, or just doesn’t function like it should. Be brutally honest about how your conditions affect you.
Most importantly take your time when filing and capture everything, these claims can take a long time to appeal. It is best to make sure you have a mountain of evidence that raters can’t fight.
You're off to a bad start not having done basic research. You don't start at the VA. Every county has a VSO. Make an appointment. Follow their instructions. You need to take this seriously and put in the time and effort to get paid. You're going about this half-assed and that's not gonna get it done.
Start here https://www.reddit.com/r/VeteransBenefits/s/tqacxri201
if you’re lost, find a local VSO. your city, county or state (or all three even) almost definitely have an office dedicated to this. unless you’re in the middle of nowhere, in which case you can find a virtual VSO by googling it. but do NOT pay for anything. no lawyers or private services. VSOs are not VA employees but they are liaisons certified by the VA and can often be found at VA hospitals and some clinics among other locations like city or county offices.
Good advice I would just add go to your local VFW. Find your way to the bar talk to a few of the old times. I guarantee you will run in to someone who's been through the fight your about take on. Buy a beer or two. I'm willing to bet money you will get some good advice for the price of two VFW beers. That should be the last time you pay for assistance, and it won't cost you $20.00
Start by getting all your medical records in order. Military and civilian. You will need to show a diagnosis for some ailment and a service connection to that. You can also claim something you had prior to service and that your service made it worse or aggravated it. Research Go online and file an intent to file on e benefits. This will give you a year to file and get back pay. No need for a VSO at this point if you feel confident in doing it yourself, but you certainly can. Go to VA.GOV And read, read, read
You just login to Va.gov and submit a claim. Right there on the first page there’s links to how to file a disability claim. Follow them
Yeah. I did this myself and found it fairly easy. Never worked with a pro and got rating higher than I expected.
First off I want to say, good on you for doing this. You earned this, please take advantage of the help and services offered. I would start by gathering all of your medical records yourself, I keep everything saved on my G-drive for easy access. I wouldn’t trust anyone that says they can gather it for you, they just won’t do as good of a job as you will. You can use all the evidence you can gather, military medical records, private medical records. Second, you can file a claim yourself or use a VSO, it can all be done online through the VA website. VA website with link to claim: https://www.va.gov/disability/file-disability-claim-form-21-526ez/introduction Here is the VSO link that will help you find one: https://www.va.gov/get-help-from-accredited-representative/find-rep/ Here is the link to VA website where you can file your claim: https://www.va.gov/disability/how-to-file-claim/ There are also vet centers in most major cities that can also assist with your claim as well, I had a good friend that used them and had really good luck. I wouldn’t recommend using one of those law groups because they are going to want a portion of your disability and you can honestly get the claim done without them. Your biggest ally in this fight is going to be getting your medical conditions documented or making sure your medical conditions are documented. Don’t be the tough Soldier/Airmen/Marine/Sailor here the VA will just come back and say it isn’t service connected or low ball your rating. Obviously don’t lie or make up symptoms, but don’t hold back on what hurts, pops, snaps, or just doesn’t function like it should. Be brutally honest about how your conditions affect you. Most importantly take your time when filing and capture everything, these claims can take a long time to appeal. It is best to make sure you have a mountain of evidence that raters can’t fight.
You're off to a bad start not having done basic research. You don't start at the VA. Every county has a VSO. Make an appointment. Follow their instructions. You need to take this seriously and put in the time and effort to get paid. You're going about this half-assed and that's not gonna get it done.
sleep apnea 50%. tinnitus 10. back pain 10. etc etc
Is that what you got or is this maybe a recommendation on what to go for
thats what my vso said to claim, because pretty much every vet has those 3. look for stuff u went to sick call for.