Citation Nr: 18153425
Decision Date: 11/27/18	Archive Date: 11/27/18

DOCKET NO. 15-14 254A
DATE:	November 27, 2018

REMANDED
Propriety of the reduction from 80 percent to 50 percent for bilateral hearing loss.
Entitlement to an increased rating in excess of 50 percent from September 1, 2014.
Entitlement to a total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU).
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran had active service from August 1972 to June 1974.  
1. Propriety of the reduction from 80 percent to 50 percent for bilateral hearing loss is remanded.
2. Entitlement to an increased rating in excess of 50 percent from September 1, 2014 is remanded.
The Veteran has been service-connected for hearing loss since shortly after separation from active service in 1975.  A December 2010 rating decision increased the disability rating for the Veteran’s bilateral hearing loss to 80 percent, effective October 4, 2010. A November 2010 audiological examination served as the basis for the assignment of this rating.
The Veteran submitted to a VA audiological examination in January 2011 in connection with his TDIU claim.
In April 2013, the Veteran filed the increased rating claim currently on appeal. He was afforded a VA audiological examination in January 2014.  Based on the results of that examination, the RO proposed reducing the 80 percent rating to 30 percent.  In June 2014, the RO reduced the rating to 30 percent, effective September 1, 2014. Subsequently, the RO sought clarification from the January 2014 audiologist. Based on this new evidence, the RO revised the reduction to 50 percent, effective September 1, 2014.
The Board notes that the January 2014 audiogram appears to be inconsistent with the November 2010 and January 2011 audiograms.  
The Veteran’s representative contends that a new audiological examination is warranted.  The Board agrees.  Additionally, the examiner is asked to review the entire claims file, including the November 2010, January 2011, and January 2014 VA audiological examinations, and provide an opinion as to the severity and manifestations of the Veteran’s bilateral hearing loss disability. 
3. Entitlement to TDIU is remanded.
Because a decision on the remanded issue of increased rating for bilateral hearing loss could significantly impact a decision on the issue TDIU, the issues are inextricably intertwined.  A remand of the claims for TDIU is required.   
The matters are REMANDED for the following action:
1. Schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician (other than the VA examiner who performed the January 2014 VA examination) to determine the current severity of his service-connected bilateral hearing loss.  
(a)	The examiner should provide a full description of the disability and report all signs and symptoms necessary for evaluating the Veteran’s disability under the rating criteria. In the current test, for the Veteran’s CNC testing, if the ear is unable to be tested due to severity of hearing loss, please indicate if that result equates to “0” for speech discrimination.
(b)	The examiner should discuss the effect of the Veteran’s hearing loss on any occupational functioning and activities of daily living.
(c)	The examiner is also requested to review the audiological evaluations conducted in January 2011 and January 2014 and offer an opinion as to whether the Veteran’s bilateral hearing loss has improved under the ordinary conditions of life and work since the November 2010 audiological evaluation.
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(d)	If the examiner finds that the January 2014 examination is unreliable or invalid, he/she is requested to provide the aforementioned opinion based on a review of the record.
 
REBECCA N. POULSON
Acting Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	E. Miller, Associate Counsel