Citation Nr: 18150254 Decision Date: 11/15/18 Archive Date: 11/14/18 DOCKET NO. 11-03 120 DATE: November 15, 2018 REMANDED Entitlement to an increased rating for left ear hearing loss (claimed as bilateral hearing loss) currently rated at 0 percent disabling, is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for right ear hearing loss (claimed as bilateral hearing loss), is remanded REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from March 1968 to September 1970. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2010 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Columbia, South Carolina. The Veteran testified at a July 2013 Board hearing held at the RO before the undersigned. A transcript of the hearing is of record. Although the claim for service connection for a right ear hearing loss is not currently within the Board’s appellate jurisdiction, it is listed on the title page of this decision because it is intertwined with the claim of an increased rating for left ear hearing loss. The Board, in its December 2014 decision, found that there was new and material evidence sufficient to reopen that Veteran’s claim for right ear hearing loss. The Board found the issue of an increased rating for left ear hearing loss needed to be remanded, noting that should service connection for right ear hearing loss be granted, the resulting disability rating would contemplate the level of hearing loss in both ears. Therefore, the claim for service connection for a right hearing loss was inextricably intertwined with the increased rating claim for left ear hearing loss. The Board directed the AOJ to adjudicate the Veteran’s claim of service connection for right ear hearing and issue an SSOC. The issue of service connection for right ear hearing loss was adjudicated in a June 2018 RO rating decision. However, subsequent to that decision the Veteran filed a timely notice of disagreement to the denial of right ear hearing loss. The Board notes that to this day the RO has not issued a Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC) addressing the issue of right ear hearing loss. As the RO never issued a SSOC with regard to this issue, the Board is required to remand the issue to the RO for issuance of a SSOC. See Manlicon v. West, 12 Vet. App. 238 (1999). 1. Entitlement to an increased rating for left ear hearing loss (claimed as bilateral hearing loss) currently rated at 0 percent disabling and service connection for right ear hearing loss are remanded. Although the Board regrets the additional delay, a remand is necessary to ensure that due process is followed and that there is a complete record upon which to decide the Veteran’s claims so that he is afforded every possible consideration. 38 U.S.C. § 5103A; 38 C.F.R. § 3.159 The Board notes that the Veteran is only service-connected for left ear hearing loss; however, as noted above, the Board in its December 2014 decision the reopened the Veteran’s claim for right ear hearing loss and found that these issues are inextricably intertwined. See Harris v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 180 (1991) (two issues are “inextricably intertwined’ when they are so closely tied together that a final decision on one issue cannot be rendered until a decision on the other issue has been rendered). Therefore, as the Board has previously determined the issues of right and left ear hearing loss to be inextricably intertwined, any decision on the Veteran’s left ear must be deferred pending resolution of the claim of service connection for right ear hearing loss. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Issue a SSOC for the claim for service connection for right ear hearing loss. Notify the Veteran of any decision and of his procedural and appellate rights. 2. Then, readjudicate the claim for an increased rating for left ear or (if service connection for right ear hearing loss is granted) bilateral hearing loss. L.M. BARNARD Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Department of Veterans Affairs