Citation Nr: 1752909 Decision Date: 11/17/17 Archive Date: 11/22/17 DOCKET NO. 13-29 883 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in St. Petersburg, Florida THE ISSUES 1. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability. 2. Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus. REPRESENTATION Appellant represented by: The American Legion WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL The Veteran ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Y. Lee, Associate Counsel INTRODUCTION The Veteran had honorable active service in the United States Coast Guard from September 1971 to September 1975. These matters come before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2011 rating decision from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in St. Petersburg, Florida. In September 2016, the Veteran testified at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A transcript of the hearing has been associated with the claims file. The appeal is REMANDED to the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ). VA will notify the appellant if further action is required. REMAND The Veteran contends that he is entitled to service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus. A remand is necessary in this case to ensure that due process is followed and that there is a complete record upon which to decide the Veteran's claim so that he is afforded every possible consideration. 38 U.S.C.A. § 5103A; 38 C.F.R. § 3.159. At the September 2016 hearing, the Veteran testified that he has received treatment from private audiologists after separation from service. A copy of these private records does not appear to be associated with the claims folder. On remand, the AOJ should make appropriate efforts to ensure that all pertinent private treatment records are associated with the claims folder. Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Identify and obtain any outstanding VA and private treatment records that are not already associated with the claims file. If any record identified cannot be obtained, the Veteran and his representative should be notified of this in writing, to include all efforts taken by VA to attempt to obtain any such record. The Veteran should also be offered the option to provide any such record himself. With the help of the Veteran as necessary, the AOJ should obtain copies of private medical records from audiologists for treatment of hearing loss or tinnitus. All attempts to obtain such records should be documented in the claims file. 2. After any additional documents are obtained and associated with the claims file, return the claims file to the VA examiner who conducted the April 2011audio examination. The Veteran's claims file and a copy of this remand should be provided to the examiner and the examination report should reflect that these items were reviewed. If the April 2011 examiner is not available, the claims file should be provided to an appropriate medical professional so as to render the requested opinion. If the examiner determines that another VA examination is necessary, one should be scheduled. The examiner is asked to provide an opinion as to the following: (a) Identify all current hearing loss and tinnitus disabilities associated with the Veteran. (b) Is it at least as likely as not that any identified hearing loss disability manifested during, or as a result of, active military service? (c) Is it at least as likely as not that any identified tinnitus disability manifested during, or as a result of, active military service? A full rationale must be provided for any opinion offered. If an opinion cannot be offered without resort to mere speculation, the examiner must indicate why this is the case and indicate what additional evidence, if any, would allow for a more definitive opinion. 3. Ensure that all requested actions have been accomplished (to the extent possible) in compliance with this REMAND so as to help avoid future remand. If any action is not undertaken, or is taken in a deficient manner, appropriate corrective action must be undertaken. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). 4. After completing all indicated development, the Veteran's claims should be readjudicated based on the entirety of the evidence. If the benefits sought on appeal are not granted, the Veteran and his representative should be provided a Supplemental Statement of the Case and afforded the requisite opportunity to respond before the case is remanded to the Board. The appellant has the right to submit additional evidence and argument on the matter or matters 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). _________________________________________________ DAVID L. WIGHT 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).