Spatial disorientation is a condition whose symptoms can be unsettling and include confusion, clumsiness, vertigo, and tinnitus. This disorder affects some veterans who have experienced traumatic events during their military service and are coping with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and it can cause major disruptions in a Veteran’s life.
Spatial disorientation can feel like there is a disconnect between what your body feels and what your eyes see. You may become dizzy or off balance for no reason. You may need to hold onto something solid like a table, a chair, or the wall just to stay upright. It also might be accompanied by brain fog. The symptoms can be intermittent or can go on for prolonged periods.
The VA does not consider spatial disorientation by itself as a disability. Instead, the VA categorizes spatial disorientation as a symptom of a service-connected impairment like PTSD, a traumatic brain injury, or other mental illnesses. If you suffer from spatial disorientation, this symptom can increase your PTSD rating and therefore increase your monthly disability benefits, but you must qualify for disability benefits under PTSD requirements.
To qualify:
- You must be diagnosed with PTSD by a psychiatrist or psychologist at a VA medical facility.
- Your symptoms must be related to a traumatic event and the VA mental health professional must confirm that a triggering stressor—related to fear of hostile military or terrorist activity—was enough to cause your PTSD.
- The VA must believe that your stressor is one that is likely to have happened in the locations and circumstances of your service. The VA refers to this as service-connection.
The amount of VA disability compensation you may receive for PTSD will depend on the extent that the disorder interferes with your functional abilities. The VA will assign you a disability rating from zero percent to 100 percent depending on the severity of your symptoms. The higher your percentage, the higher the benefit amount you will receive.
If your PTSD does not interfere with work or social functioning, you will be judged as not disabled. If your symptoms are controlled with medication and only surface during times of severe stress you will be assigned a 10% rating. Ratings of 30%, 50%, and 70% are given as you progress from occasional mental difficulties up to where every facet of your daily life is affected by symptoms which may earn a 100% rating.
Most often spatial disorientation will enter the ratings equation at the 70% level along with a long list of other symptoms like occupational and social impairment; inability to manage family relations; suicidal ideation; obsessional rituals; speech that is intermittently illogical, obscure, or irrelevant; near-continuous panic or depression; impaired impulse control (including unprovoked irritability and violence); neglect of personal appearance and hygiene; and difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective relationships.
If you are coping with spatial disorientation, be sure to discuss it with the examiner at your VA mandated Compensation and Pension (C&P) Exam.
If you have been turned down by VA for benefits related to your PTSD and you believe the denial was unfair, you have the right to appeal and you have the right to have an attorney represent you. Call us for a free evaluation of your case. At Cuddigan Law you have a dedicated team of professionals in your corner who understand the system and who will fight for your rights.
