VA disability vs FAA medical
 

For those with service related disabilities

I'm planning on applying for VA disability for some service related issue. If approved, does it have any impact for my class 1 medical or my job? Thanks in advance.

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Sometimes. Usually not. Denying that you have a medical problem on your FAA PX that you simultaneously claim for a VA disability will torque your shorts severely though WHEN they catch you.

If you are on any waivers in the military ask the Flight Surgeon’s Office to make a complete copy of your initial waiver package and your most recent flight physical in case the FAA is concerned. Those dudes all went to the same training and play in the same sandbox and will generally just accept the military flight surgeons opinions. It can save you a world of paperwork and bother.

The only thing that will impact your FAA Medical and your job is lying. Period.

If you have a service related disability, claim it. If paper work for said disability needs to be filed with FAA do it.

DO NOT, pretend you don't have this disability and hide it from the VA and the FAA. Even worse, DO NOT file with the VA and then not tell the FAA, that will get you in more trouble than you can imagine.

The worst, don't pretend you have a disability and lie to the VA and the FAA.

Big triggers for the FAA are PTSD and sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is fine as long as you have a special issuance and follow the rules. It will take some time for that process to take place, though.

Normal "aches and pains" are fine. Just check the box for disability on the FAA form and be up front and honest about it. I have a 5 second conversation about it once a year.

Trust me I have no intension of lying about anything, I just want to get an idea of the process. I'll consult my AME before I start my application.

A lot will depend on what you get a VA disability rating for. I have a 90% rating. Two items were an issue for my FAA medical. One took years after I left the Army to approval. The other thankfully is a simple checkbox by my AME every year.

There are things that are immediately disqualifying and other things that you'll need to provide more info on which can take thousands of dollars and requires you to go to a FAA specific doctor for review. And let me tell you they aint cheap.

If you have PTSD that can nix your flying career. If you have trouble sleeping that can nix your flying career. Nearly any mental health issue is at least going to get a second look. Tread VERY carefully if you see the VA for a mental health issue. They hand out PTSD diagnoses like candy which speaking of candy they will give you all sorts of fun candy which will immediately end your flying career whether you need it or not (the candy not the flying).

I would recommend giving ole Doc Limoge in Colorado Springs a call and have a chat with him. He is a retired AF General was a AF flight surgeon and likes helping keep us Vets flying. He can also help with difficult cases. Hes is a great dude.

Jerome P Limoge MD
1360 AVIATION WAY
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80916
Voice: (719) 659-0988

Thank you for your service!

Yes, its the normal aches/pains and tinnitus I'm seeking. Thanks for responding.

Thanks for the info!

I have open claims pending decision right now too. I asked my AME as well and he said you don't have them until they make a decision on disability rating, as stated previously. Once that's done, disclose on your annual renewal and its cake. FYSA, I started my process in March last year, then Rona; still have 1 exam to complete, and they no longer put estimates for completion of claims dates. They just put TBD on your VA profile. Get going ASAP because it will take awhile.

Much appreciated!

Have 70% VA. Strangely they won't service connect my sleep apnea which I have a special issuance for.

Stuff I'm rated for is mostly orthopedic injuries. AME doesn't even ask since it's all PRNC.

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They don’t care about the %. They care about the conditions you’ve claimed.

This is the same for me. Mine is all orthopedic, with the exception of my tinnitis. Reported it once after I was told my rating, and it hasn't come up since.

Did you guys applied directly with the VA or with some Veteran's organization? My case are tinnitus.

Thanks for all the inputs, really appreciated!

DAV here.

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Direct through VA using the BDD program-Benefits Distributed at Discharge. Its designed to expedite and ensure you begin to receive your compensation immediately upon separation. But like I said before...Rona...so its all jacked up. Good luck.

DAV. The BDD thing only works if you start the process prior to some cutoff (180 or 90 days prior to separation, I can't remember).

The DAV was awesome for me; literally just brought them my medical record (on CD), and they did everything. Only other thing I had to do was show up to the appointments that the VA made for me. In my case I went to the DAV and started the process about 30 days prior to separation, but then had to wait until after my separation for them to schedule the appointments.

If you're within the cutoff for the BDD, definitely do not go through the VA. Use a VSO for it.

A VSO will know what exactly is worth claiming. They will ask for your whole med record and they applied for things that I just considered "old aches and pains". In the end, you'd be amazed at what the FAA will let you fly with, as I've heard of pilots with one eye, hearing in one ear, etc. Bottom line, don't be afraid to list things that are wrong with the VA or the FAA as honesty will serve and protect you going forward.

Important info here:

https://www.airlinepilotforums.com/m...dictments.html

BLUFF: Don't hide anything from the FAA.

This right here.

The rating is a metric for monetary benefits, has no bearing on your fitness to fly.

Most things are a non-issue. There is a box on the paperwork for the FAA you have to check if you are receiving disability. Tell them way, then every medical for the rest of your career you can just put "previously disclosed."

Like was mentioned, the FAA doesn't really care about anything unless it's your noggin or sleep related (TBI, PTSD, Sleep apnea, etc). Tinnitus, aches, broken bones, neck problems, all the standard run of the mill things they don't care just that you disclose.

Make sure you research tinnitus before the va evaluation.... if you have tinnitus with dizziness you’ll be denied a medical... simple ringing of the ears periodically without other reactions seems to be GTG.

If you go one step further, once you get you rating letter from the VA, just bring an extra copy to your AME so they can have it on file. As others have said, the FAA will crosswalk the VA database on occasion. Being totally above board with the AME will save a lot of anxiety. Good luck.

Good idea. But still make sure you check all of the relevant boxes... that's what the FAA will compare to other government databases.

Don't be the guy(s) who claim PTSD, take 100%... then tell the FAA you have nothing wrong with you.

Morons.

True for the most part, although they seemed very curious on my arthritis which has been documented for years. Just this summer they became very interested and requested immediate information on type, restrictions, range of motion evaluation, medications, etc. Maybe a ball dropped early on, but I do understand that it might be of interest if I needed a cane, walker, Segway scooter or something to get to my working seat. Paperwork/evaluations submitted and all is quiet on Middle TN front thankfully.

What % are you getting for the arthritis?

Nice try, CAMI.

Right, the FAA is looking anonymous social media. That's a new level of paranoia.

My point was that if he is at a high disability % for arthritis, his medical application probably flags, range of motion is an important medical qualification. A few years ago the FAA started coordinating with the VA, so this may have not been flagging anything before, but it would now.

They don't need to ask, it's in another federal database which apparently they can cross-check at will.

whooooooosh

If they're worried about your range of motion sitting in the seat and flipping switches, they really should be concerned with the FA's in the back and the physical demands of their job then. Double standard.

Sorry delayed response. Arthritis rating is a low % of overall rating compared to the rest so it was doubtful as a trigger. The arthritis alarm wasn’t anything loud is my presumption, just that the FAA really hasn’t been that busy with pilots falling off the books as many did not need to do physicals for quite some time. My name probably popped as I continued to do physicals due to being required to fly internationally anytime anywhere - never take the chance that any other country will honor FAA policies. They were probably bored to death and we’re just revisiting files for clarity sake.

*Just did a in-person physical/review on one of my high ratings at the 3 year point. I was initially told the VA might review ratings at the 5 year point after retirement and so forth. Maybe because it was a high rating; therefore, 3 years came into play. All went well as the rating was maintained.

So just to be clear. If i file for tinnitus, as long as I can pass a first class medical hearing test. the FAA won't care as long as I disclose that information?

Should be the case, as long as you don't claim that it's so pervasive that affects your mood, concentration, restfulness, etc.

For the FAA, you can be physically pretty broke-crank as long as your head is good.

Great! thanks

So I assume that all the government data bases can talk to each other? For instance, FAA medicals can be seen by Wright Patt and vice versa?

Not automatic at this point I believe, the systems don't interact with each other.

The FAA is known to have on at least a couple of occasions gained access to data downloads of other .gov databases (social security and VA) and apparently run cross checks which resulted in a number revocations and federal prison time.

They way they get around HIPPA is because they're not looking at your *medical* data from other agencies but rather your finances (disability pay) which is fair game. Once they get a hit on disability pay which you din't report to the FAA then they can get a warrant for the medical details. At which point the FAA turns it over to the DOJ since it's a federal felony. They added the question on the form about disability pay about the time this all started... not hard to guess why.

But obviously even that's enough to catch you eventually if you try to game the system. Would probably be better if they did auto-cross check everything up front, so they could clear it all up before issuing medicals. But the way it is now you can definitely get more than enough rope out of the system to hang yourself before the system catches up to you... and it might takes years to catch up.

If your concern is military waivers versus FAA Special issuances, rest easy. Many if not most of the senior people in FAA aeromedical started out doing pretty much the same thing in the Air Force, Army, or Navy. The relationship is so incestuous they virtually think with the same brain. If you have a military waiver the FAA Special Issuance or SODA is generally a slam-dunk.

Every military person with a waiver who intends to do civilian flying ought to get copies of their original waiver paperwork and their last flight physical before separating/retiring and just hand your AME a copy to send to OKC. Generally when the guy/gal at OKC reviews it they just rubber stamp it. More often than occasionally they are looking at their own signature on the military paperwork.

Thanks for the info. I’m actually looking at the opposite end, ie going through Wright Patt FC1 and currently hold FAA First Class. On the FAA you list every medical appointment you’ve had in last year, serious or not. So wondering if I need to put all that down for FCI... seems like they are only asking for actual diagnosis of medical conditions. Not sinus infection from 2017. Just don’t want something to come up and they say “why didn’t you put this down with us when you did with the FAA??” and ruin the opportunity. Will definitely ask recruiter but figured there was some guys with good advice here.