Citation Nr: 1520675	
Decision Date: 05/14/15    Archive Date: 05/26/15

DOCKET NO.  10-13 169	)	DATE
	)
	)

On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Houston, Texas


THE ISSUE

Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus.  


REPRESENTATION

Appellant represented by:	Texas Veterans Commission


ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

D. Van Wambeke, Counsel



INTRODUCTION

The Veteran served on active duty from October 1942 to December 1945.

This matter comes to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2008 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Cleveland, Ohio, which denied the claim.  The RO in Houston, Texas, currently has jurisdiction of the claim.

The May 2008 rating decision also denied entitlement to service connection for a skin disorder, which the Veteran appealed.  Service connection was subsequently granted in an April 2013 rating decision.  Therefore, that issue is no longer before the Board for appellate review.  

The current record before the Board consists entirely of electronic files known as Virtual VA and the Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS).  

This appeal has been advanced on the Board's docket pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c).  38 U.S.C.A. § 7107(a)(2) (West 2014).

The appeal is REMANDED to the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ).  VA will notify the appellant if further action is required.


REMAND

The Veteran submitted a VA Form 21-4142 dated July 2010, in which he reported receiving treatment from Brown Hearing Center.  The RO attempted to obtain the identified records in an April 2011, but no response was received from the facility.  No further action was taken by the RO, in violation of 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)(1).  This must be rectified on remand, as these records could be relevant to the issue of entitlement to service connection for tinnitus that remains on appeal.  


Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action:

(Please note, this appeal has been advanced on the Board's docket pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c).  Expedited handling is requested.)

1.  Make arrangements to obtain the Veteran's complete treatment records from Brown Hearing Center (as found in the July 2010 VA Form 21-4138 with VBMS receipt date of March 16, 2011).

2.  Review the claims folder and ensure that all of the foregoing development actions have been conducted and completed in full.  If any development is incomplete, appropriate corrective action is to be implemented.

3.  Finally, readjudicate the claim.  If the benefit sought on appeal remains denied, furnish the Veteran and his representative a supplemental statement of the case and provide an appropriate period of time to respond.  The case should then be returned to the Board for further appellate review, if in order. 

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 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 2014).


_________________________________________________
KATHLEEN K. GALLAGHER 
Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals

Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 2014), 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) (2014).