Va Disability Asthma And Sleep Apnea

Symptoms Of Sleep Apnea

There are multiple symptoms, but remember not all symptoms are automatically an indication of a medical problem, but they are worth paying attention to for future reference if you have some of the more benign types.

Dont forget the power of a spouse, partner, roommate or other housemate to give you information that could help with your decision making about this issueif someone tells you youve been snoring or showing signs of other sleep disturbances, take such reports seriously and consider committing those observations to writing for your future claims sake.

Symptoms of sleep apnea include:

• Insomnia or difficulty remaining asleep
• Excessive daytime sleepiness, aka hypersomnia
• Difficulty paying attention due to sleep deprivation
• Irritability due to insomnia or lost sleep

Va Disability Ratings For Sleep Apnea

Under the VA Ratings Schedule, a veteran may qualify for VA benefits, which are grouped into 0%, 30%, 50%, or 100%. These benefits can be further broken down as follows:

• 0% Sleep Apnea Rating: no symptoms apart from breathing difficulty while sleeping.
• 30% Sleep Apnea Rating: excessive daytime sleepiness, though a CPAP machine is not required at night.
• 50% Sleep Apnea Rating: requires the use of a breathing assistance machine to sleep at night .

• 100% Sleep Apnea Rating: sleep apnea causes chronic respiratory failure with carbon dioxide retention or heart conditions that may require tracheostomy.

Currently, service-related sleep apnea with a 50 percent rating is the most common for veterans seeking VA disability benefits. Studies show that 9 out of 10 veterans with service-connected sleep apnea have a 50% rating and are under CPAP therapy.

How The Va Assigns Disability Ratings For Sleep Disorders

Once the veteran can prove that they have sleep apnea, the VA continues to determine the veterans monthly compensation based on a rating system set in the VA regulations known as a Rating Schedule.

In the Rating Schedule, the veteran’s severity of sleep apnea is calculated in percentages which determines how much the VA should compensate. So, for instance, if a person is deemed totally disabled due to service-connected damage, all the benefits are paid 100% and in some instances, they may get extra compensation for critical injuries.

The Rating Schedule places disabilities into groups or categories like the musculoskeletal system, mental disorders, and the skin. Each group has a defined rating for certain diagnoses with critical symptoms that are used for the disability ratings.

So, you must have these specific symptoms to qualify for the given rating. A VA will first assess your symptoms and find a diagnostic code that best pairs with them.

Read Also: How Much Is 10 Va Disability

Va Disability Benefits And Sleep Apnea

What Is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder in which breathing stops and starts during sleep. There are three main types of sleep apnea, including:

• Obstructive sleep apnea, the more common form in which the throat muscles relax
• Central sleep apnea, which occurs when the brain does not send proper signals to the muscles controlling breathing
• Complex sleep apnea syndrome, which occurs when someone has both obstructive and central sleep apnea

The most common symptoms of sleep apnea are loud snoring, tiredness after waking, gasping for air during sleep, and episodes in which one stops breathing during sleep. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, particularly the more severe ones like gasping for breath during sleep, you should talk to your doctor.

How The VA Rates Sleep Apnea

Under 38 CFR § 4.97, the VA rates sleep apnea based on the severity of the condition and/or the type of treatment required.

Diagnostic Code 6847: Sleep Apnea Syndromes

• 100 Chronic respiratory failure with carbon dioxide retention or cor pulmonale, or requires tracheostomy
• 50 Requires use of breathing assistance device such as continuous airway pressure machine
• 30 Persistent day-time hypersomnolence
• 0 Asymptomatic but with documented sleep disorder breathing

Get Help With Your VA Claim

Lower/less Severe Va Ratings

0% Rating

The VA rates sleep apnea at a 0% rating if your condition is asymptomatic, but you have a documented history of sleep disorder breathing.

Under this rating, its nearly impossible to gain any benefits from the VA as a disability.

30% Rating

The VA rates sleep apnea at a 30% rating if you experience hypersomnolence or excessive daytime sleepiness.

The 30% designation recognizes that the patient is not seeing improvement with a sufficient amount of sleep, or naps during the day.

Under this rating, you have a higher likelihood of receiving approval yet still are against the odds since the military often does not grant VA disability benefits for this type of condition.

Also Check: What Veterans Are Not Eligible For Va Health Care

What Can I Do About The New Ratings

If you have sleep apnea that you think is connected to your military service and you have not yet filed a disability claim, do so now.

The VA is not allowed to reduce an existing disability rating based on the policy change.

Another thing we want to emphasize: The VA cant hold it against you if another condition makes it difficult for you to use the CPAP machine. If thats the case for you, its OK to let the examining physician know.

If you need help understanding how to service-connect sleep apnea to another condition, or if your condition has worsened but you are apprehensive about applying for an upgrade, talk to the Rep for Vets.

Veterans Affairs 50% Disability Rating Is Harder To Get

The new rules made it so that a prescription for a CPAP machine alone is not enough evidence to demonstrate a 50% disability. Now, the need for a CPAP machine is considered to be a medical question, which can only be answered by a physician. In addition to the prescription for the machine, the physician needs to present documentation of how Sleep Apnea impacts your life, and how it was caused by military service.

The added requirement may surprise veterans who are looking to get a 50% VA disability rating for Sleep Apnea. With the rule changes, a veteran who applies for VA disability for Sleep Apnea could get their claim denied if they do not prove medical necessity that requires further documentation from your doctor.

And even then, its not a guarantee that youd get approval from the VA. The VA seems to be scrutinizing VA disability claims for Sleep Apnea more closely than they did in the past. Is Sleep Apnea a disability? Yes, but there are many things to consider when filing a VA claim.

Don’t Miss: New Jersey Disability Phone Number

Is A Cpap Machine The Only Treatment For Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea treatment depends on the type and severity of the condition. Before or in addition to CPAP therapy, lifestyle changes such as diet, exercise, and stress reduction may be recommended. Some veterans with sleep apnea may experience improvement with lifestyle changes, but CPAP therapy is still among the most common treatments.

You May Like: Short Of Breath When Eating

Establishing Service Connection For Sleep Apnea

In order to establish direct service connection for sleep apnea, a claimant must show that they have:

• a current, diagnosis of sleep apnea
• an in-service event or illness/injury
• a medical nexus or link that shows the veterans sleep apnea is related to their in-service event, injury/illness.

A veteran can also establish service connection for sleep apnea on a secondary basis. This means that a veteran has an already service-connected disability that caused the veteran to have sleep apnea. In this case, there must be a medical nexus to link the sleep apnea to their already service-connected disability.

Some conditions that can be secondary to sleep apnea may include but are not limited to:

• heart conditions
• mental health conditions

If you have a service-connected condition that you believe is causing your sleep apnea, it may be a good idea to start to talk to your doctors about it.

You May Like: Can You Use Short Term Disability For Mental Health

Maximize Your Va Rating For Asthma

Can you trace your asthma back to a service-related event or symptom? If so, chances are youre suffering from more than this physical ailment alone.

Many times, asthma occurs concurrently with other conditions, including sleep apnea and rhinitis, among others. Once you know your VA rating for asthma and subsequent medical issues, you can use VA math to combine these various ratings. This helps you optimize your compensation and make sure youre getting the money that you deserve.

While this process is relatively straightforward, applying and appealing your ratings can be a time-consuming and often confusing process. Our team of VA disability lawyers can help you get it right the first time. Well walk you through all of the steps and help you make sure your claim is complete.

If you have any questions or want to discuss any aspect of your claim, were here to connect. Contact our team today and lets get started.

Talk to Us About Your Claim:

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get TDIU for Asthma?

Yes, if your Asthma is rated at 60% or higher or of you have another disability rated higher than 60%. TDIU combinations can get a little tricky, but Asthma can definitely be a contributing factor for your TDIU application.

If Covid-19 made my asthma worse, can I get a higher VA rating?

Va Proposes Changes To Sleep Apnea Ratings

Under the current rating schedule, VA issues ratings at 0, 30, 50, 100 percent for sleep apnea even if treatments are somewhat effective in dealing with the condition.

However, in February 2022, VA proposed changes that would reclassify sleep apnea ratings to 0 percent, 10 percent, 30 percent, or 50 percent, with 100 percent for sleep apnea seeming even harder to qualify for.

Asymptomatic sleep apnea would not be compensated under the tentative regulation. If treatment for sleep apnea provides only limited alleviation, you will only receive ten percent of your maximum compensation, even if a CPAP machine is required.

A 50% rating would be given if treatment was ineffective or you were unable to use therapies due to another condition. Finally, a 100% rating is available when sleep apnea is so severe that it involves organ damage.

So if this proposed change for sleep apnea ratings goes through, its possible that veterans may start getting lowballed ratings. For now, these ratings are merely a proposal so stay tuned to this page while we update.

Read Also: Is A Learning Disability Special Needs

Links Between Asthma And Sleep Apnea

Many studies have now shown that people who have asthma are more likely to develop obstructive sleep apnea. This risk is almost 40% greater for them than for people with no asthma. Some of this is due to the use of systemic steroids in treating asthma. Long-term use of these steroids can cause upper airway muscles to weaken which may result in impaired function. This issue is directly related to obstructive sleep apnea. When throat muscles have weakened because of asthma, the tendency for the throat to collapse and obstruct the airway increases.

Because of this the longer a veteran has asthma the higher the likelihood is that they will develop sleep apnea.

Cpap Therapy Is Central To The Vas Sleep Apnea Rating System

CPAP stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. A CPAP machine is basically a mask connected to a machine that you wear at night. If worn dutifully, the CPAP machine produces a continuous flow of air that keeps interruptions to your breathing to a minimum, allowing you to get a better nights rest.

The CPAP machine is VAs go-to plan for treating veterans with sleep apnea. Doctors also recommend changes in your diet, exercise, and stress reduction. But the CPAP is central to the VA rating schedule for sleep apnea.

If a clinical evaluation shows that your sleep apnea is bad enough to warrant a CPAP machine, you automatically get a 50% rating.

You May Like: Ptsd Treatment Orange County Ca

How Does The Va Diagnose Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a difficult condition to diagnosis for a variety of reasons.

For starters, the symptoms for Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Central Sleep Apnea are similar and may overlap.

Therefore, receiving a diagnosis that covers the correct form of sleep apnea is not always apparent at first.

Furthermore, the patient may have Complex Sleep Apnea Syndrome which includes both forms.

Sleep apnea is difficult to diagnose unless you sleep with a partner .

Consequently, the military traditionally orders a sleep study when sleep apnea is suspected.

The sleep study enables medical professionals to study a patient while they are resting to confirm a diagnosis.

A sleep study can serve as medical evidence of a diagnosis.

Moreover, the VA has an expected duty to assist veterans in scheduling the sleep study examination.

Thus, do not be afraid to contact your local veterans clinic or hospital to set up a new examination.

What if you have already been diagnosed with sleep apnea?

The VA will likely still have you undergo a sleep study done by the military to confirm the diagnosis.

Rating Multiple Respiratory Conditions

Many veterans assume that if they suffer from two respiratory conditions they can receive separate disability ratings for both. This assumption makes sense from the veterans perspective. After all, respiratory conditions can have vastly different impacts on the body. For example, a condition like sleep apnea causes muscles in the throat to block airways during sleep, while a condition like asthma causes airways to become enflamed. These conditions not only have different effects on the body, but are also treated differently by doctors. So they should be rated by the VA differently, right? Not so, according to the VA.

The VA has implemented a special regulation that prevents veterans from being rated for multiple respiratory conditions, 38 C.F.R. §4.96. Under this regulation, when a veteran claims, and is granted service-connection for multiple respiratory conditions the rating specialists must choose the condition that is considered the predominant disability. The rating specialist then rates all of the veterans respiratory conditions under the predominant disabilitys diagnostic code.

For any veteran dealing with rating multiple respiratory conditions, please keep in mind that 38 C.F.R. §4.96 does not prevent you from seeking extra-schedular rating.

If you need assistance with VA benefits claims for multiple respiratory conditions, we are here to help. Call Veterans Help Group at 855-8992 or complete our free veterans benefits case evaluation form.

Recommended Reading: How To Get 100 Percent Va Disability

Va Schedule Of Rating

After VA grants service connection, it must determine the correct rating. To do so, VA consults the Schedule of Ratings. The ratings should reflect how much that specific disability impairs your ability to work. In order to get a 100% rating for sleep apnea, it must be so severe that it prevents gainful employment.

Va Disability Rating For Asthma Detailed Va Rating Criteria

VA Disability Ratings for Asthma

You May Like: How Does Social Security Disability Work When A Spouse Dies

How Can Sleep Apnea Improve My Rating For Asthma

As you might imagine, it can be difficult to receive a higher rating for asthma alone, as there are myriad different symptoms required and your FEV-1 values must be significantly low to qualify.

That said, is there any way you can use your sleep apnea to increase and improve your rating?

Yes, but to do so youll need to know how to effectively link the two conditions together. This is where it helps to understand VA math! While the VA does publish a Combined Ratings Table that can help you determine how to raise your rating to 100%, its no secret that this table is difficult to read and navigate.

Weve made it easy to break down the numbers with our helpful tutorial. In addition to using the VA Math Chart, you can also use our built-in VA Math Calculator, located on our website.

As you do so, keep in mind that sleep apnea is considered a secondary condition to asthma. As mentioned before, this is because people suffering from asthma will often develop new-onset sleep apnea symptoms, meaning that if the two are linked, asthma is the primary condition.

combined VA rating and monthly payment

Factors That Influence Sleep Apnea Disability Claims

In summary, you need to prove the following three factors to receive a disability rating for sleep apnea:

An in-service diagnosis of sleep apnea is the clearest path toward approval for VA disability.

However, most service members do not receive a diagnosis while in the military which makes proving that sleep apnea is service-connected much more difficult.

As a result, scheduling a sleep study through a certified clinic is the best means to getting an indisputable diagnosis.

Also Check: What’s The Difference Between Veterans Day And Memorial Day