Are you trying to get your FAA medical with insomnia? Our firm frequently experiences applicants who have a documented history of insomnia who wish to obtain an airman medical certificate from the FAA. It is the opinion of our firm that insomnia should be reported on your FAA medical application at question 18m., which elicits information about a history of any mental health conditions. Insomnia is reported as a mental health condition under the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (“DSM-5”).
Therefore, if you have a history of insomnia, you should report your history appropriately at question 18m. After reporting insomnia, the FAA will typically ask for more information about your history of insomnia. The FAA’s concern for insomnia is typically two-fold: 1) whether you are currently experiencing insomnia; and 2) whether the underlying cause of the insomnia can be mitigated.
If you are currently experiencing insomnia, you should consult with your physician about how to get your insomnia under control. You should always put your health first and determine with your physician what is best for your overall health. Consult with your doctor that many medications frequently utilized for treatment of insomnia, such as Seroquel and Trazadone are aeromedically disqualifying. If you are using these medications, among others, you will be denied airman medical certification.
Medications such as Lunesta and Ambien are approved, if used in an appropriate fashion. If you are experiencing unmitigated symptoms from insomnia, however, the FAA will be concerned with those symptoms which might pose a risk to aviation safety. These symptoms could include daytime fatigue and sleepiness, impaired cognitive function, mood disturbances, memory problems, reduced psychomotor performance, and experiencing microsleeps. Therefore, it is important to get your insomnia under control with your doctor to prevent such aeromedically significant symptoms.
The FAA will also want to know what is causing your insomnia. Is your insomnia caused by a psychological condition, such as Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, or some type of substance use disorder? On the other hands, perhaps your insomnia is rooted in a sleep disorder like obstructive sleep apnea (“OSA”) or a circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorder. Either way, the FAA will want to know what has caused your history of insomnia and that it is appropriately treated and/or mitigated for recurrence of symptoms. If your insomnia has resolved, documentation from your physician stating what had caused the symptoms will be important.
Here are some tips for you to consider when applying for an airman medical certificate with a history of insomnia:
- Remember to report your history of insomnia at question 18m., on the application for airman medical certification. If you have failed to report your history of insomnia on your application(s) for airman medical certification, consider amending your application to reflect your history appropriately.
- Prepare with your physician before your application for airman medical certification. The FAA will require you to provide a detailed clinical progress note from your physician, identifying the etiology of your insomnia, as well as confirmation that your insomnia has been resolved. Your doctor should discuss your history, your current status, current use of medication (if any), and prognosis.
- If your history of insomnia is caused by another condition, such as OSA or PTSD, you should consider what documentation you will need to provide to your Aviation Medical Examiner and/or the FAA to establish that the underlying medical condition(s) are effectively treated for aeromedical purposes.
- If you are receiving VA disability benefits for insomnia, you should be prepared to provide a copy of your VA disability rating sheet to your Aviation Medical Examiner and to the FAA.
Cases involving insomnia underscore the need for legal guidance when applying for a FAA medical certificate. The Federal Aviation Regulations which relate to insomnia require that the evidence you put in front of the FAA supports that you will not be a risk to aviation safety. This is a matter which requires a lawyer’s understanding of how fact (i.e., medical evidence) will be applied to law.
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