Citation Nr: 1751185 Decision Date: 11/08/17 Archive Date: 11/17/17 DOCKET NO. 10-47 039 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Columbia, South Carolina THE ISSUE Entitlement to an initial compensable disability rating for bilateral hearing loss. REPRESENTATION Veteran represented by: Disabled American Veterans WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL The Veteran ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD L. Silverblatt, Associate Counsel INTRODUCTION The Veteran served on active duty from November 1985 to November 1989. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an April 2010 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office in Columbia, South Carolina. In March 2013, the Veteran testified before a Veterans Law Judge (VLJ) at a Central Office hearing. In July 2016, the Veteran was informed that the VLJ who had presided at the hearing was no longer employed by the Board, and the Veteran was offered an opportunity for a new hearing, to which he accepted. Pursuant to an October 2016 Board remand, the Veteran testified at a videoconference hearing before the undersigned VLJ in August 2017. Transcripts of both hearings have been associated with the electronic claims file. The appeal is REMANDED to the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ). VA will notify the Veteran if further action is required. REMAND The Veteran is seeking an initial compensable disability rating for bilateral hearing loss and contends that his symptomatology is more severe than reflected by the criteria associated with a noncompensable rating. Based on a review of the claims folder, the Board finds that additional development is needed prior to adjudication of the claim. A review of the record reveals that the Veteran has not been afforded a VA audiology examination since December 2013, approximately four years ago. Although the Veteran has a more recent audiology report from a private audiologist, dated in December 2015, the Veteran asserts that his hearing loss has worsened. The Board finds that a remand is necessary to afford the Veteran a contemporaneous examination to determine the current severity of his bilateral hearing loss. See Allday v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 517, 526 (1995) (indicating that, where the record does not adequately reveal the current state of the claimant's disability, fulfillment of the statutory duty to assist requires a contemporaneous medical examination, particularly if there is no additional medical evidence that adequately addresses the level of impairment of the disability since the previous examination). While on remand, updated treatment records must be obtained. Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Contact the Veteran, and, with his assistance, identify any outstanding records of pertinent medical treatment from VA or private health care providers that have treated him for his bilateral hearing loss. Follow the procedures for obtaining the records set forth by 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c). If VA attempts to obtain any outstanding records which are unavailable, the Veteran should be notified in accordance with 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(e). 2. Schedule the Veteran for a VA audiological examination, conducted by a state-licensed audiologist, to evaluate his bilateral hearing loss. All indicated tests and studies should be accomplished, and all clinical findings should be reported in detail. The examination must include a puretone audiometry test and a controlled speech discrimination test using the Maryland CNC word list, unless the examiner certifies that use of a speech discrimination test is not appropriate and provides a supporting rationale. The examiner should also address any functional impairment resulting from the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and its effects on his ordinary activities. Preferably, the appropriate Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ) should be filled out for this purpose. In addition, the examiner must address the Veteran's contentions as to the effect of his bilateral hearing loss on his daily activities. All examination findings, along with the complete rationale for all opinions expressed, should be set forth in the examination report 3. After completing the above, and any other development as may be indicated by any response received as a consequence of the actions taken in the preceding paragraphs, the Veteran's claim should be readjudicated based on the entirety of the evidence. If any benefit sought remains denied, furnish the Veteran and his representative a supplemental statement of the case (SSOC) and return the case to the Board. The Veteran 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 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 2014). _________________________________________________ KRISTI L. GUNN 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) (2017).