Citation Nr: 18153888 Decision Date: 11/28/18 Archive Date: 11/28/18 DOCKET NO. 15-26 266 DATE: November 28, 2018 REMANDED Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for a bilateral hearing loss disability is remanded. Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for an occipital nerve injury is remanded. REASON FOR REMAND The Veteran had a period of honorable service in the Air Force from May 1985 to May 1995. The Veteran had a video hearing before the Board in October 2018. Entitlement to initial compensable ratings for a bilateral hearing loss disability and an occipital nerve injury are remanded. The Veteran contends that his service-connected bilateral hearing loss disability and his service-connected occipital nerve injury disability warrant higher ratings than initially assigned. Since January 2014, he has had noncompensable ratings for his bilateral hearing loss disability and his occipital nerve injury disability. The Veteran was afforded VA examinations for his bilateral hearing loss disability and his occipital nerve injury disability in June 2014. The Veteran asserts that symptoms of his hearing loss and his occipital nerve injury have increased in severity since he was last examined by VA in June 2014. During his October 2018 Board hearing, the Veteran reported that his bilateral hearing loss disability hindered communication in his marriage and at his job. He further reported that his hearing aids prevented him from wearing ear plugs at work. Additionally, he asserted that his occipital nerve injury made wearing a heavy helmet for construction-related work difficult and that the pressure on his head caused him to experience migraine headaches. He reported that the residuals of his occipital nerve injury were moderate in nature and not mild, as they were found to be on his last VA examination. The Board finds the VA examinations are unduly remote, as they are over four years old, and the Veteran has asserted worsening of symptoms. The Board is unable to determine the current severity of the Veteran’s service-connected bilateral hearing loss disability and his service-connected occipital nerve injury disability and concludes that a remand is needed to afford the Veteran an opportunity to undergo updated VA examinations to assess the current nature, extent, and severity of these disabilities and to obtain any outstanding VA treatment records. See Bell v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 611 (1992). Additionally, the record contains VA treatment records through June 2014. At his October 2018 hearing, the Veteran mentioned several reports from VA neurologists dated since June 2014. On remand, updated VA treatment records should be obtained and the Veteran should also be offered the opportunity to submit any private treatment records in support of his claims. The matters are REMANDED for the following actions: 1. Obtain all outstanding VA treatment records. Any attempts to obtain these records and responses received thereafter should be associated with the Veteran’s claims file. The Veteran should also be offered the opportunity to submit any private treatment records in support of his claims. 2. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination with an appropriate clinician to determine the current nature and severity of his bilateral hearing loss disability. All necessary tests should be conducted, and 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. To the extent possible, the examiner should identify any symptoms and functional impairments due to his bilateral hearing loss disability alone and discuss the effect of that disability on any occupational functioning and activities of daily living, to include the impact of his hearing aids to his safety in a work environment. 3. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination with an appropriate clinician to determine the current nature and severity of his occipital nerve injury disability. All necessary tests should be conducted, and 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. To the extent possible, the examiner should identify any symptoms and functional impairments due to his occipital nerve injury disability and discuss the effect of that disability on any occupational functioning and activities of daily living, to include the associated pain of wearing a several-pound helmet. JENNIFER HWA Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD R. Muzzammel, Associate Counsel