Citation Nr: 1318689	
Decision Date: 06/07/13    Archive Date: 06/11/13

DOCKET NO.  06-16 051	)	DATE
	)
	)

On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


THE ISSUES

1.  Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss. 

2.  Entitlement to service connection for a psychiatric disorder.  

3.  Entitlement to service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

4.  Entitlement to service connection for a neurological disorder, to include traumatic brain injury (TBI).  


REPRESENTATION

Veteran represented by:	The American Legion


WITNESSES AT HEARINGS ON APPEAL

The Veteran and his spouse 

ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

J. Andrew Ahlberg, Counsel

INTRODUCTION

The Veteran served on active duty from August 1975 to December 1975 and from March 1976 to December 1979.  

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from February 2004, April 2005, and February 2008 rating decisions issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.    

The appeal is REMANDED to the RO via the Appeals Management Center (AMC), in Washington, D.C.  VA will notify the Veteran if further action is required.


REMAND

The Veteran was scheduled for a video-conference hearing before the undersigned in May 2013.  However, in April 2013, prior to his scheduled hearing, he declined the video-conference hearing and instead expressed a desire to attend a hearing conducted by a Veterans Law Judge sitting at the RO.  Because the Board may not proceed with an adjudication of the Veteran's claims without affording him the opportunity for such a hearing, a remand is required.  See 38 U.S.C.A. § 7107(b) (West 2002); 38 C.F.R. § 20.700 (2012).

Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action:

The Veteran should be scheduled for a Board hearing before a Veterans Law Judge sitting at the RO.  

The Veteran has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matters the Board has remanded.  Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999).

These claims must be afforded expeditious treatment.  The law requires that all claims that are remanded by the Board 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. 2012).



_________________________________________________
A. JAEGER
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) (2012).