Your disability must be connected to your military service to receive compensation

 Hey Jim,

I have sleep APNEA. Am I entitled for military compensation? I am a veteran of the KOREAN war.I am 84 years old.

Reply,

You must connect the sleep apnea to your military service to be eligible for VA disability compensation.

If you were asked the question, "How did your service cause the sleep apnea?", how would you answer that? If you can't reasonably make the connection, you don't have a well grounded claim.

Veterans always must remember that as we age, our body will surely change in ways we don't particularly care for. Degenerative joint disease, obstructive sleep apnea, prostate cancer, heart and other vascular disease and a wide array of other health problems will surely dog us in our elder years.

These diseases also affect civilians who never served. VA doesn't exist to give us money just because we run into health problems later in our life. VA will compensate veterans for disabling conditions that are "service connected" and VA will rightfully deny conditions that are a part of normal life.

Before you consider a disability benefits claim, always verify your eligibility by asking yourself 3 questions...(1) Do I have proof of qualifying military service, (2) Do I have a current medical diagnosis in my records, and (3) Do I have a way to show that the diagnosed condition was caused by, contributed to or aggravated by my military service?

If you answer "No" to any one of the three questions, you should rethink the filing of a claim.