Citation Nr: 0810466 Decision Date: 03/28/08 Archive Date: 04/09/08 DOCKET NO. 02-12 122 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Muskogee, Oklahoma THE ISSUE Entitlement to service connection for bilateral defective hearing. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: The American Legion WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL The veteran ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Christopher Maynard, Counsel REMAND The veteran had active service from February 1956 to December 1958. This matter initially came before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2002 decision by the RO which denied service connection for bilateral defective hearing. The veteran had a hearing before a traveling member of the Board at the RO in June 2003, and the transcript is of record. The case was remanded to the RO for additional development in January 2004 and January 2006. In response to the Board's February 2008 notification that the member of the Board who conducted the Travel Board hearing in June 2003 was no longer at the Board, the veteran, in March 2008, indicated that he wished to be rescheduled for another Travel Board hearing. In light of these circumstances, this case is REMANDED to the RO for the following: The veteran should be scheduled for a personal hearing before a traveling member of the Board of Veterans' Appeals as soon as practicable. By this REMAND, the Board intimates no opinion; either legal or factual, as to any final determination warranted in this case. No action is required of the veteran until he is notified by the RO. The veteran has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matter or matters 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). S. L. Kennedy 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).