Citation Nr: 18141492
Decision Date: 10/10/18	Archive Date: 10/10/18

DOCKET NO. 15-28 255
DATE:	October 10, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to a compensable rating for service-connected bilateral hearing loss is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran served on active duty from January 1967 to January 1969.
In September 2018, the Veteran testified during a video conference hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge.  The Veteran testified that his hearing has gotten worse.  In a November 2017 statement he asserted that his hearing loss and speech discrimination is getting worse; he reported he misses a lot of words in conversation.  When a claimant asserts that the severity of a disability has increased since the most recent rating examination, an additional examination is appropriate.  VAOPGCPREC 11-95 (April 7, 1995); see also Weggenmann v. Brown, 5 Vet. App 281 (1993).  As the Veteran reported his hearing loss has worsened since the most recent VA examination in December 2015, reexamination is warranted.
The matter is REMANDED for the following action:
Schedule the Veteran for a Department of Veterans Affairs audiological examination to determine the current symptoms, level of severity, and functional impairment associated with his bilateral hearing loss.  The claims file should be reviewed by the examiner.  All necessary tests should be performed and the results reported. 
 
Nathan Kroes
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	M. Gonzalez, Associate Counsel