Citation Nr: 1318924	
Decision Date: 06/11/13    Archive Date: 06/21/13

DOCKET NO.  10-46 929	)	DATE
	)
	)

On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Louisville, Kentucky


THE ISSUES

1.  Entitlement to service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability.

2.  Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus.


REPRESENTATION

Veteran represented by:	Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States


WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL

Veteran

ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

N. L. Northcutt, Counsel 



INTRODUCTION

Pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c), the appeal has been advanced on the Board's docket.

The Veteran, who is the appellant, served on active duty from June 1957 to June 1960.

This matter is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal of a rating decision in July 2010 of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). 

In December 2011, the Veteran appeared at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge.  A transcript of the hearing is in the Veteran's file.

The appeal is REMANDED to the RO via the Appeals Management Center in Washington, DC.  


REMAND

On the claims of service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability and for tinnitus, the Veteran asserts that his hearing impairment and tinnitus began in service and after noise exposure during service. 

On VA examination in June 2010, the VA examiner stated that a bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus were unrelated to service, because of the lack of audiometric data demonstrating hearing loss on separation from service.  






As the VA examiner failed to consider the Veteran's history of onset of hearing impairment and tinnitus during service and relied on the absence of medical records to corroborate hearing loss in service, and as a lack of contemporaneous medical evidence is not a bar to the Veteran's ability to prove his claims, a new examination under the duty to assist is needed.

Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action:

1.  Afford the Veteran a VA audiology examination to be conducted at a VA medical facility in proximity to the Veteran's home by a VA examiner, who has not previously examined the Veteran, to determine: 

Whether it is more likely than not (probability greater than 50 percent), at least as likely as not (probability of 50 percent), or less likely than not (probability less than 50 percent), that the current bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus as shown on VA examination in June 2010 are related to noise exposure in service?   

In formulating the opinion, the VA examiner is asked to consider that: 

Although there is no contemporaneous record of impaired hearing or tinnitus in service, the Veteran as a lay person is competent to describe symptoms of impaired hearing and tinnitus, and the Board finds the Veteran's statements credible.  




Stated differently, the VA examiner must account for the Veteran's statements about the onset of impaired hearing and tinnitus as they relate to the current diagnoses.   

Also, the VA examiner is asked to comment on the Veteran's report of noise exposure in service without hearing protection and post-service occupational noise exposure with required hearing protection. 

The Veteran's file must be available to the VA examiner for review.   

2.  After the development is completed, adjudicate the claims of service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability and for tinnitus.  If either benefit sought is denied, then provide the Veteran and his representative a supplemental statement of the case and return the case to the Board.

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).

The 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).



_________________________________________________
George E. Guido Jr. 
Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals





Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 2002), only a decision of the Board 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).