When surrounding get too loud around a federal employee they may develop a condition called Subjective Tinnitus. This condition is tinnitus however you can hear. It actually is the most common type of tinnitus and can be caused by ear problems in your outer, middle or inner ear. It also can be caused by problems with the auditory nerves or the part of your brain that interprets nerve signals as auditory pathways.
In a recent federal workers’ compensation claim, OWCP obtained a “second opinion” medical report, which they used to proposed termination of workers’ compensation benefits to a federal employee using this line from the report:
“Dr. X’s report establishes that your accepted medical condition of Subjective Tinnitus has ceased, or is no longer injury-related, because there are no objective residuals of the accepted work injury.”
What can you do about it? One idea would be to show the second opinion report to your treating doctor and ask him to educate the OWCP claims examiner in a special report on subjective tinnitus. You can ask your doctor to discuss how would a doctor test for it or prove that it exists or does not exist. Is there such a thing as “objective residuals” for this condition and what are they?
If you have questions about your eligibility for benefits such as federal workers’ compensation or federal disability retirement benefits, please feel free to contact our experienced team anytime. See our section on “What You Can Expect” when you speak with us. Harris Federal Law Firm with federal employees from all 50 states. Our goal is to help workers to understand their rights and determine the options that work best for them.
