Citation Nr: 18151066 Decision Date: 11/16/18 Archive Date: 11/16/18 DOCKET NO. 16-50 350 DATE: November 16, 2018 REMANDED Entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 30 percent for bilateral hearing loss is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from January 1968 to March 1969. This matter is on appeal from an October 2015 rating decision. In the July 2018 Appellant’s Brief, the Veteran’s representative asserts that the Veteran’s service-connected bilateral hearing loss has worsened since his last VA examination in August 2016. Therefore, to ensure that the record reflects the current severity of the Veteran’s condition, a new examination is needed to properly evaluate his service-connected bilateral hearing loss. The duty to conduct a contemporaneous examination is triggered when the evidence indicates that there has been a material change in disability or that the currently assigned disability rating may be incorrect. See Caffrey v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 377, 381 (1994); see also Snuffer v. Gober, 10 Vet. App. 400, 403 (1997). The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Schedule the Veteran for a VA audiometric examination to determine the current severity of his service-connected bilateral hearing loss. The Veteran’s electronic claims file must be accessible for review by the VA examiner in conjunction with the examination. All necessary tests, to include audiological and Maryland CNC testing, should be performed. The examiner must provide a complete rationale for any opinion expressed. 2. After completing all indicated development, the Agency of Original Jurisdiction should readjudicate the Veteran’s claim. If the benefit sought on appeal remains denied, the Veteran should be furnished with a supplemental statement of the case, given the opportunity to respond, and the case should thereafter be returned to the Board for further appellate review, if warranted. KELLI A. KORDICH Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD D. Houle, Associate Counsel