# Doc Bear's Symptom Vault — Symptom Log for VA Claims

> Symptom Log for VA Claims (iPhone/iPad app by Edward McKeown.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/doc-bears-symptom-vault/id6774394997 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Edward McKeown](https://appshunter.io/developer/1832048453)
- Category: Medical, Health & Fitness
- Price: Free
- Age rating: 17+
- Requires: iOS 15.0 · 10 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2026-06-05
- Data updated: 2026-09-17
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/doc-bears-symptom-vault/id6774394997/reviews.md

## What is Doc Bear's Symptom Vault?

Your health data belongs to you. Not us. Not anyone else.

IMPORTANT — PLEASE READ
Doc Bear's Symptom Vault is a personal documentation tool. It is not a medical device and does not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition. It does not provide medical diagnoses, clinical decisions, or treatment advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This app is not a substitute for professional medical care.

Doc Bear's Symptom Vault is an independent application published by Doc Bear Enterprises, LLC. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or operated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) or any other government agency. References to VA regulations, rating criteria, forms, diagnostic codes, and benefit programs are provided for informational purposes only. Only the VA determines eligibility, ratings, and benefits.

Doc Bear's Symptom Vault is a privacy-first symptom and health tracking app built for anyone who needs to document their health journey — whether you're a veteran filing a VA disability claim, a caregiver managing a loved one's care, or anyone living with chronic conditions.

WE NEVER SEE YOUR HEALTH DATA
Your health data is stored locally by the app. We operate no servers that hold it, there is no account to create, and we collect no information about you. Ever.

WHO THIS APP IS FOR
- Veterans documenting conditions for VA disability claims
- Caregivers tracking symptoms for family members
- Anyone managing chronic illness or long-term health conditions
- People preparing for doctor visits with detailed symptom history
- Patients who want their medical documentation in their own hands

SYMPTOM TRACKING
- Log symptoms with severity (0-10), triggers, and functional impact
- Track 960+ symptoms across 14 body systems
- Quick Log chronic symptoms in seconds with one tap
- Document medications and correlate with symptom patterns
- Record measurements — blood pressure, weight, glucose, and more

TRENDS & EVIDENCE
- Visualize symptom patterns over time
- See frequency, severity trends, and your worst days
- Export detailed reports for doctors, specialists, or attorneys
- VA Claim Package PDF — formatted for C&P examiners
- CSV export for spreadsheet analysis

VA CLAIM TOOLS (for veterans)
- Compare your documentation to 38 CFR Part 4 rating criteria
- 240+ VA diagnostic codes referenced
- C&P Exam Prep Checklist
- Post-Exam After Action Report
- Buddy Statement Generator
- TDIU Worksheet, organized around VA Form 21-8940
- Strategic Filing Guide
- Appeal & Decision Review Guide

These tools help you organize your own records. They are not determinations, they are not filed with the VA, and they do not guarantee any rating or benefit.

PRIVACY & SAFETY
- No cloud sync • No analytics • No ads • No account
- Panic Key — triple-tap to instantly leave the app
- Veterans Crisis Line built in — one tap to call
- Multi-profile support — manage health for your whole family

EXPORT YOUR RECORDS
- VA Claim Package PDF
- CSV export
- Data Bunker backup and restore
- Blue Button Smart Import from My HealtheVet

Because your records are stored on your device and we never receive them, we cannot recover them for you. Export a Data Bunker backup regularly.

Free to use. No ads. No subscriptions.
Built by a Marine Corps veteran — for veterans, caregivers, and everyone.

Doc Bear Enterprises, LLC — Cedar Rapids, Iowa


## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 3.8.0 — 2026-09-05

v3.8.0 — Updated Terms of Use & Privacy Policy
Our Terms and Privacy Policy have been updated. You'll be asked to review and accept them the next time you open the app.
Changes include a new arbitration agreement and class action waiver you can opt out of within 30 days, and a limit on our liability.
Your logged data, settings, and profiles are unchanged.

### 3.7.0 — 2026-07-14

Version 3.7.0 — Surgical History Tracking + Android Fixes

SURGICAL HISTORY (NEW)
Your surgical records are primary medical evidence for VA claims — operative reports, pre-op diagnoses, and documented complications directly support rating decisions and nexus arguments. This version adds a dedicated Surgical History section under the History tab.

Each surgery record captures:
- Procedure name and type (orthopedic, cardiovascular, neurological, and more)
- Surgery date, surgeon name, and facility
- Anesthesia type
- Related service-connected condition(s) — links the surgery directly to your VA claim
- Pre-op diagnosis
- Complications
- Recovery notes and follow-up requirements

Surgical history is fully integrated into your VA Claim Package PDF export as a dedicated section with an indigo-colored table, including a Related Condition column that ties each surgery to your SC conditions. You can also choose to include or exclude surgical history from exports using the Advanced Filters in the Export section.

All surgery data is stored locally on your device — no account, no cloud, no ads.

ANDROID FIXES
- Fixed a crash that occurred when saving a backup on devices with large data sets (8,000+ symptom logs). The backup now streams to disk in chunks rather than attempting a single large write, eliminating the Android Binder IPC size limit crash.
- Fixed Android PDF export falling through to the share sheet with no Save to Device option. PDF exports now open Android's native Save As dialog directly, giving you full control over where the file is saved.

PLATFORM ALIGNMENT
All three platforms (Web, Android, iOS) are now on version 3.7.0, re-syncing version numbers that had diverged due to a prior Android-only hotfix.

As always — your data stays on your device. Always.

### 3.6.5 — 2026-07-09

Bug Fixes — v3.6.5

VA Claim Package PDF — Table of Contents
- Fixed Medication Log missing from the Table of Contents. The section 
  was printing correctly in the PDF body with the right section number, 
  but was not listed in the TOC, causing a mismatch between the contents 
  page and the actual document.

Doc Bear's Symptom Vault remains 100% local. No account required. No ads.

### 3.6.4 — 2026-07-05

Bug Fixes — v3.6.4

Tinnitus (DC 6260)
- Fixed the analyzer ignoring the date range selected in the UI and always defaulting to a 90-day window regardless of selection.
- Fixed supported rating hardcoded to 0% instead of the correct flat 10% per DC 6260 for all recurrent tinnitus cases.
- Fixed Evidence Summary tiles showing all zeros; the analyzer was not returning a metrics object, so Total Logs, Symptom Days, and Avg Severity all displayed as empty.

Vestibular / Peripheral Vestibular Disorders (DC 6204)
- Fixed the vestibular analyzer missing general dizziness logs. Episodes logged under the Neurological category were invisible to the DC 6204 analyzer and not counted toward rating thresholds.
- Fixed vertigo detection so dizziness episodes logged outside the Ear & Balance category correctly register as vertigo rather than being silently excluded.
- Improved the rating card status label to distinguish between three presentations: Dizziness Only, Vertigo + Dizziness, and With Staggering, instead of a single generic fallback.

Knee Instability (DC 5257)
- Fixed Evidence Summary tiles showing all zeros. The analyzer was missing a metrics return object entirely, causing Total Logs, Symptom Days, Avg Severity, and Flare-Ups to all display as zero on the rating card.

VA Claim Package PDF — Evidence Strength Table
- Fixed Hip and Thigh, Ankle/Achilles Tendon, Amputation, and Activities of Daily Living conditions always showing zero evidence, zero gaps, and GAPS strength in the PDF summary table.
- These analyzers use different field names (rationale[] and evidenceGaps[]) than the standard analyzers. The PDF generator was only reading the standard fields and finding nothing.
- Fixed Activities of Daily Living always showing GAPS strength regardless of how many ADL factors were documented. The SMC level ('L', 'R', 'S') was being parsed as a number, returning zero, and triggering the GAPS fallback.
- Fixed ADL Rating column in the PDF table showing blank instead of the SMC level.

Sleep Apnea Profile
- Fixed the sleep apnea profile not reloading on the rating card after restoring from a Data Bunker backup. The rating card was reading the profile from a local localStorage key while the backup restore was writing to the profile-namespaced IndexedDB key. The two paths are now unified through the profile-aware storage layer.

Doc Bear's Symptom Vault remains 100% local. No account required. No ads.

### 3.6.3 — 2026-07-03

Bug Fixes — v3.6.3

SMC Calculator
- Fixed a false positive that incorrectly flagged eligibility for SMC-O and SMC-R1. The word "Residuals" in a condition name was triggering an ALS match due to a substring error. No ALS diagnosis is no longer required to clear these levels.

Respiratory Condition Cards
- Fixed an issue where Asthma, COPD, Chronic Bronchitis, Emphysema, and other respiratory cards appeared with no logged data. A measurement lookup was returning all measurements instead of filtering by type.

VA Claim Package PDF
- Mental health conditions (PTSD, MDD, GAD) are now correctly included in the combined rating calculation. A string comparison error was 
  excluding range-rated conditions like "70-100%" from VA math entirely.
- Evidence strength scoring now correctly evaluates mental health conditions, which store documentation differently than other conditions.

Mental Health Rating Cards
- Symptom Days, Work Impact, and Social Impact tiles now display accurate counts. The cards were reading fields that did not exist in the analyzer output, causing all three tiles to show zero.

Doc Bear's Symptom Vault remains 100% local. No account required. No ads.

## Apps similar to Doc Bear's Symptom Vault

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## More apps by Edward McKeown

- [Doc Bear's Comfort Kitchen](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/doc-bears-comfort-kitchen/id6749778906)

All apps by Edward McKeown: https://appshunter.io/developer/1832048453

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-17.*