Citation Nr: 1802340	
Decision Date: 01/11/18    Archive Date: 01/23/18

DOCKET NO. 16-28 390	)	DATE
	)
	)

On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in St. Paul, Minnesota


THE ISSUE

Entitlement to a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss.


REPRESENTATION

Appellant represented by:	The American Legion


ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

M. Neal, Associate Counsel



INTRODUCTION

The Veteran served on active duty from September 1953 to September 1955.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2015 rating decision of the St. Paul, Minnesota, Regional Office (RO) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

This appeal has been advanced on the Board's docket pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c) (2017). 38 U.S.C. § 7107(a)(2) (2012).

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


REMAND

With regard to increased ratings, the duty to assist includes, when appropriate, the duty to conduct a thorough and contemporaneous examination of the veteran. Green v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 121 (1991). In addition, where the evidence of record does not reflect the current state of the veteran's disability, a VA examination must be conducted. Schafrath v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 589 (1991); 38 C.F.R. § 3.327 (a). In his appellate brief, the Veteran, through his representative, indicated that the most recent VA hearing examination does not reflect the current severity of his service-connected bilateral hearing loss. See December 2017 Appellate Brief. The Board notes that the last VA hearing examination is almost 3 years old. See February 2015 Compensation and Pension Examination Note. Therefore, in order to afford the Veteran every possible consideration, the Board finds that an additional examination evaluating the severity of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is warranted.

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. With any required assistance of the Veteran, obtain any outstanding VA and pertinent private medical records, and associate them with the claims file.

2. Following completion of the above, afford the Veteran a VA examination to evaluate the current severity of his service-connected bilateral hearing loss. The claims folder must be made available to the examiner for review in connection with the examination, and the examiner must acknowledge such review in the examination report.

A complete rationale must be given for all opinions and conclusions expressed.

The examiner is advised that the Veteran is competent to report injuries and symptoms and that his reports must be considered in formulating the requested opinions. If his reports are discounted, the examiner should provide a reason for doing so.

If the examiner cannot provide an opinion without resort to speculation, he or she should provide an explanation as to why this is so and whether there is additional evidence that would permit the opinion to be provided.

3. Thereafter, readjudicate the issue remaining on appeal-entitlement to a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss. If this benefit sought on appeal is not granted in full, the Veteran and his representative should be issued a supplemental statement of the case and provided an opportunity to respond. The case should then be returned to the Board for further appellate consideration, if otherwise in order.

No action is required of the Veteran until he is notified by VA. However, he is again advised of his obligation to cooperate in ensuring the duty to assist is satisfied. Kowalski v. Nicholson, 19 Vet. App. 171 (2005); Wood, 1 Vet. App. at 190. His failure to help procure treatment records, for example, may impact the determination made. His failure to report for a VA medical examination may have the same impact. 38 C.F.R. § 3.655 (2017). The Veteran also is advised that he has the right to submit additional evidence and argument, whether himself or through his representative, with respect to this matter. Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999). This appeal must be afforded prompt treatment. The law indeed requires that all remands by the Board or the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) are to be handled in an expeditious manner. 38 U.S.C. §§ 5109B, 7112 (2012). 



_________________________________________________
CAROLINE B. FLEMING
Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals

Under 38 U.S.C. § 7252 (2012), 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).