Citation Nr: 1339712 Decision Date: 12/03/13 Archive Date: 12/18/13 DOCKET NO. 12-27 548 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Boston, Massachusetts THE ISSUES 1. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss. 2. Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: Massachusetts Department of Veterans Services ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD L. Willis, Associate Counsel INTRODUCTION The Veteran served on active duty in the Army from March 1965 to March 1968. These matters come before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2010 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Boston, Massachusetts. The appeal is REMANDED to the RO via the Appeals Management Center (AMC), in Washington, DC. VA will notify the Veteran if further action is required. REMAND In his March 2011 Notice of Disagreement, the Veteran stated that he had hearing problems post service as evidenced by his 1968 civil service exam which "picked up some hearing loss." There is no record of the 1968 civil service hearing exam associated with the claims folder. As the civil service examination may be relevant to the instant claim, the Board finds it necessary to remand to obtain the records. The March 2010 VA examiner stated that the Veteran's tinnitus is as likely as not a symptom associated with hearing loss. Accordingly, the claims for entitlement to service connection for tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss are inextricably intertwined. See Harris v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 180 (1991) (two issues are "inextricably intertwined" when they are so closely tied together that a final Board decision on one issue cannot be rendered until the other issue has been considered). Therefore, the claim for tinnitus must be remanded pending the development and readjudication of the bilateral hearing loss appeal. Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Contact the Veteran and request that the Veteran provide or authorize the release of any relevant records, including any hearing tests he has undergone since separation from service. Associate any tests with the claims folder. Specifically, request that the Veteran provide any information regarding the 1968 Civil Service examination to which he referred in his March 2011 Notice of Disagreement. If, after making reasonable efforts to obtain named non-VA records the AMC is unable to secure same, or if after continued efforts to obtain federal records it is concluded that it is reasonably certain they do not exist or further efforts to obtain them would be futile, the AMC must notify the Veteran and (a) identify the specific records the AMC is unable to obtain; (b) briefly explain the efforts that the AMC made to obtain those records; (c) describe any further action to be taken by the AMC with respect to the claim; and (d) inform the Veteran that he is ultimately responsible for providing the evidence. The Veteran must then be given an opportunity to respond. 2. Thereafter, and after undertaking any additional development deemed necessary, readjudicate the issues on appeal. If any of the benefits sought on appeal remain denied, in whole or in part, provide the Veteran and his representative with a Supplemental Statement of the Case and afford them a reasonable opportunity to respond. Then return the case to the Board for further appellate review, if otherwise in order. The Veteran has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on this matter. 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. 2013). _________________________________________________ A. C. MACKENZIE 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) (2013).