Did you leave military service with vision issues? Did you enter the military with glasses, but want to be free of the frames for stylistic or practical reasons? Lasik can help you see the world without the burden of glasses or contacts, and although it's an investment that needs to be considered financially and emotionally, you may not have to pay for it. Here is a bit of Lasik information for veterans who want to get better vision while hopefully avoiding the costs:
What Does Lasik Surgery Do?
The Lasik procedure reshapes the inner layer of the eye's cornea. Since Astigmatism--a condition causing poor vision--is caused by an improper eye shape, the shape needs to be corrected. A precision laser technique is used to correct the shape of the cornea that changes the way light reflects into the eye.
The treatment provides long-term vision correction and allows patients to live free of corrective vision equipment. Although some patients will need additional care later in life, it can be a more liberating experience when compared to wearing glasses with continued vision degradation.
How Can The VA Help?
The Department of Veterans Affairs can provide veterans with a number of medical, dental, vision, and psychological care services. Unfortunately, the only surefire way to get Lasik through the VA is to have a service-connected vision problem.
A service connection is a fact showing that your military or relevant government service was the cause of your vision problems, or that the issue happened during military service. The second part is a bit more vague, as it can be difficult to debate whether "natural" vision failure is or isn't the Veterans Affairs (VA) disability system's problem.
If you're able to prove a service-connection, at the very least you'll be able to get referrals to third-party medical professionals of your choice outside of the VA. The lowest VA disability approval percentage is at 0%, which is a non-compensated (no money) disability rating with the previously mentioned medical care, while higher percentages can give hundreds or thousands of dollars depending on the severity and number of disabilities.
Getting Assistance From Optometrists
To prove your case, you'll need medical evidence showing proof of your disability. Vision problems that require Lasik can be proven with an eye exam, but your local VA facility may not agree with your service-connection.
In many cases, a service-connection needs to be a severe drop in vision during or shortly after military service. This means that a person with vision problems suddenly requires glasses or several degrees of vision loss happen to a person who already has glasses. Pre-existing conditions aren't the end, but you need to prove how much worse the problem became.
An optometrist can help by not only showing a worse visual situation but by looking for any kind of damage that may not be in line with normal vision failure. If you suffered trauma that wasn't documented or subtle problems such as lacerations caused by duty in high sandstorm-active areas, you'll have a better chance of tracking down evidence on your own time as opposed to dealing with long VA wait times.
Contact an optometrist to discuss Lasik procedures, and be sure to have your military records ready to share.
Share4 September 2017
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