What should my physician address in a letter?

O

OiledPancakes

Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2023
Messages
170
I was DQ'ed for high-frequency hearing loss in one ear (very minor btw). My ENT doctor told me it is not a problem at all and that he does not ever see it being an issue for service or life in general. It is not progressive and is only at a very high frequency so it pretty much just means I can't hear a dog whistle haha.

USNA, USMA, and USAFA have requested waivers, no word back yet.

My ENT told me he is going to write a letter explaining how it is not a serious problem at all, and I can submit it as AMI. He asked me what they would want him to address in the letter. I sent him the post from Mullen about the criteria they look at for a waiver, but that is not hearing specific.

I understand this is probably a DoDMERB help question, but I would prefer any contact with DoDMERB to be very professional and random questions.

If anyone has any advice, please let me know.
 
I think you are on the right track. Your doctor should state what he anticipates are the military concerns with your hearing, including the cause, if your hearing 'loss' will continue, or that it is stable and will not worsen. I'm sure I'm missing some other points, but I imagine the doctor is well qualified to anticipate the concerns. Good luck with your waiver!
 
Panda57 said:
I was DQ'ed for high-frequency hearing loss in one ear (very minor btw). My ENT doctor told me it is not a problem at all and that he does not ever see it being an issue for service or life in general. It is not progressive and is only at a very high frequency so it pretty much just means I can't hear a dog whistle haha.

USNA, USMA, and USAFA have requested waivers, no word back yet.

My ENT told me he is going to write a letter explaining how it is not a serious problem at all, and I can submit it as AMI. He asked me what they would want him to address in the letter. I sent him the post from Mullen about the criteria they look at for a waiver, but that is not hearing specific.

I understand this is probably a DoDMERB help question, but I would prefer any contact with DoDMERB to be very professional and random questions.

If anyone has any advice, please let me know.
Click to expand...
Retake the test? DS had to retake his last year and all is well now.
Just a thought.
 
If you look at the DODMERB documentation, there is section explaining what DODMERB (and the SAs) are really concerned about for medical issues. When we asked a specialist to write a letter on behalf of our daughter when she was DQ'd, we provided him with this information. He included wording in his letter describing why the issue she was DQ'd for was corrected when she was a baby and therefore it would not impact her ability to serve or deploy, it wouldn't put anyone else at risk, etc...

“4c. Ensure that individuals under consideration for appointment, enlistment, or induction into the Military Services are:
(1) Free of contagious diseases that probably will endanger the health of other personnel.
(2) Free of medical conditions or physical defects that may require excessive time lost from duty for necessary treatment or hospitalization or probably will result in separation from the Service for medical unfitness.
(3) Medically capable of satisfactorily completing required training.
(4) Medically adaptable to the military environment without the necessity of geographical area limitations.
(5) Medically capable of performing duties without aggravation of existing physical defects or medical conditions.”
and also
17. Generalized waiver criteria – The main focus of all waiver decisions is centered on the ability to safely and successfully train, be commissioned, and be world-wide deployable upon graduation/commission. In applying this objective, a few of the questions that are considered are:
a) Is the condition progressive?
b) Is the condition subject to aggravation by military service?
c) Will the condition preclude satisfactory completion of prescribed training and subsequent military duty?
d) Will the condition constitute an undue hazard to you or to others you will be charged in leading, particularly under combat conditions?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top