Citation Nr: 0809970 Decision Date: 03/26/08 Archive Date: 04/09/08 DOCKET NO. 05-23 309 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in No. Little Rock, Arkansas THE ISSUE Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for right ear hearing loss. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Disabled American Veterans WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL Appellant ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD L. Jeng, Associate Counsel INTRODUCTION The veteran had active service from June 1976 to June 1980, from June 1991 to December 1991, and from January 1998 to July 1998. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from a September 2004 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In November 2007, the veteran appeared in a videoconference hearing at the RO before the undersigned. The appeal is REMANDED to the RO via the Appeals Management Center (AMC), in Washington, DC. VA will notify the appellant if further action is required. REMAND Additional development is needed prior to disposition of the claim for an initial compensable rating for right ear hearing loss. VA's duty to assist includes a duty to provide a medical examination or obtain a medical opinion where it is deemed necessary to make a decision on the claim. 38 U.S.C.A. § 5103A(d) (West 2002); 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)(4) (2007). See also Robinette v. Brown, 8 Vet. App. 69, 76 (1995). In the present case, VA afforded the veteran an examination for his disability most recently in September 2005. At his November 2007 hearing, the veteran testified that his hearing has worsened since September 2005. Moreover, the evidence currently of record does not otherwise reveal the veteran's current auditory acuity. Therefore, the veteran should be afforded another hearing examination to determine the present severity of his right ear hearing loss. See VAOPGCPREC 11- 95 (1995) (a new examination is appropriate when there is an assertion of an increase in severity since the last examination). Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Schedule the veteran for a VA audiological examination for the purpose of ascertaining the current level of disability associated with his right ear hearing loss. The claims folder must be made available to and be reviewed by the examiner, and the examination report should reflect that the claims folder was reviewed. 2. Then, readjudicate the claim on appeal. If the decision remains adverse to the veteran, provide the veteran and his representative with a supplemental statement of the case and allow him the appropriate opportunity for response. Thereafter, return the case to the Board for the purpose of appellate disposition. The Board intimates no opinion as to the ultimate outcome of this case. No action is required of the veteran until he is notified by the RO; however, the veteran is advised that failure to cooperate by reporting for the examination may result in the denial of his claim. 38 C.F.R. § 3.655 (2007). The appellant has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matter the Board has remanded. Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999). This claim must be afforded expeditious treatment. The law requires that all claims that are remanded by the Board of Veterans' Appeals or by the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims for additional development or other appropriate action must be handled in an expeditious manner. See 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 5109B, 7112 (West Supp. 2007). _________________________________________________ ERIC S. LEBOFF Acting Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 2002), only a decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. This remand is in the nature of a preliminary order and does not constitute a decision of the Board on the merits of your appeal. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b) (2007).